Covenant Red
by Adam Kadmon
Summary: Clarity will be your weapon.
1. Baptism

Covenant Red

Chapter 1: Baptism

Disclaimer: I do not own Evangelion.

/\/\/\/\

His alarm buzzed. He groaned into his pillow, flailing one hand from under covers to hit the snooze button. He allowed his body to relax into a blissful warm negligence and his eyes fluttered shut.

"Kensuke," his father spoke from beyond the bedroom door. "Don't be late for school."

"I know," Kensuke said back, face buried in his pillow.

He waited for his father's footsteps to pad away before kicking his sheets off. He spilled out of bed onto the floor. He grabbed his glasses from the bureau on the way up and stumbled to the door. He willed the other side to be different this time. He opened the door and stepped out into his home.

Home was a cramped apartment his father used for sleep between work shifts. Décor was understated by use, not design. The living room was owned by unpacked boxes. The only TV was in Kensuke's room. Sanitation was minimal; they did not own a vacuum.

The kitchen was camouflaged under a layer of empty frozen meal packs and old newspapers. Kensuke found his father at the table, hunched over one of each as he idly finished a piece of toast. His eyes scanned the print behind thick glasses. He held the paper by the edges with bony fingertips.

Kensuke passed by him to their tiny freezer and found the last waffle. He cleared a few empty boxes away before the microwave and tossed it in.

He sat by his father at the narrow table and stole the front section of the paper, dominated by local election results. Extended reporting on the surrounding prefectures ensured a loyal print subscription beyond the diehard old guard like his father who refused to make the jump to digital.

Reconstruction continued after another isolated attack outside the capital, he read, skimming down to national headlines. Over two dozen injured, but no fatalities thanks to evacuation shelters. Exact details on the incident were murky, buried beneath a thick veneer of nationalistic pride. The government and media seemed determined to keep the rhetorical jingoism at a fever pitch, if nothing else than to perpetuate themselves. Exclusive photos sold new editions, enhanced defenses eased another tax hike.

The microwave beeped and Kensuke retrieved his waffle. His father rose from the table. The toast was gone, his section of the newspaper was folded shut. Kensuke lingered over his meal as he waited out the last his father's morning pre-work ritual. He brushed his teeth, peed, checked his email, then padded to the front door for his shoes.

"Don't be late for school," his father told Kensuke.

"I know," Kensuke said. Kensuke decided to be late for school.

His father left. Kensuke waited for the door to click shut before fishing the comics out of the newspaper.

/\/\/\/\

He locked the front door behind him on the way out. He'd be the first to open it again. His father worked through lunch every day but still stayed late, catching dinner from a street vendor and eating it on the train. Kensuke was usually online under a pair of headphones when his father did return. The only hello was the thin shadow passing over the strip of light beneath his bedroom door.

Kensuke took the stairs to ground level, remembering his vow to be late to school. On the way down he crossed paths with two other residents of the apartment building. The first was a neighbor from down the hall, a short mother of two children in diapers. She offered an exhausted smile as a general greeting. Kensuke responded with his best nod of encouragement. The second resident was the landlord's unemployed son, tasked with maintenance and general upkeep in return for shelter. He passed in a daze, without a word. Kensuke smiled and waved anyway.

School was close enough to avoid public transportation. The streets were cramped and noisy, jammed with traffic and humanity in the long shadows of narrow buildings. Kensuke reached school grounds in less than fifteen minutes, pushed by the tide of the crowd. He checked his watch. He loitered outside the main building for another five, watching the clouds pass overhead.

The bell for first period rang. He snuck inside during the commotion, reminding himself to bug the class rep later to add him to the attendance roll. He found his desk and slid into the expected role of willing disciple to public education. He took notes when other students did. He made sure to look interested, sponging in the information the teacher dripped out.

During a fourth period spill about global economics his inbox silently alerted him to a new prioritized message. It was a summons to meet at lunch in-room, as he expected. Kensuke dutifully responded with an affirmative.

The Tech club, as it was generously called, met Tuesdays and Thursdays after school, and informally nearly every day during school. A fair portion of class was also spent multitasking between what teachers shot at him and keeping up with what the club directed his way. The school's network linking terminals was disappointingly standard-issue and offered no real challenge. Working around and through its gaps to set up private rooms or peek into lazily guarded files was a dull thrill of irresponsible rebellion, but ultimately fruitless.

Computers were always a passing fancy, and he made himself content with his silver medal. Everybody seemed to talk about computers and jobs in the same breath. There was a dull comfort gleaned from assuming his future was secure. He heard a few students were already taking college prep courses and cramming for entrance exams. Active pursuit of a professional desire seemed alien.

The lunch bell sounded. The teacher departed for parts unknown and the students responded with practiced relaxation. Some left the room to eat but most stayed, quietly rearranging desks and chairs into a socially aware obstacle course. The jocks sat near the windows, the popular kids crowded around the door to keep within earshot of any new teenage scandals, the academics studied over their meals.

Kensuke passed by them all without incident to the back corner of the classroom. In the shadow of the supply closet he met four boys, already deep in conversation.

"Yo," he said to the group, who greeted him with the appropriate amount of teenage enthusiasm.

He was the fifth and newest addition to the club, formally welcomed after a week of preparatory tests imposed by the existing members used to gauge his knowledge and dedication but also bring him up to speed. In a sense, it was reassuring that the group was so particular. It certainly dissuaded the uninitiated. It was a safe bubble of existence he could use to coast by in.

"Yo," the club leader greeted back. "We were going over the specs of the PockeTech 4."

"Cool." Kensuke hesitated, making sure it was okay to offer further opinion. "The hardware doesn't seem worth the cost."

"Exactly," another member said, proudly. "Looks like you read the analysis I sent out last night."

 _If I was a moron,_ he thought. _Anybody could tell they're jacking up the price._

"Of course," he said. "It was really well thought out. Thanks for that."

Kensuke offered a politely receptive smile for their benefit and they indulged in it. He was still the new guy, and he learned even simple school clubs observed rigid hierarchies of seniority and experience.

But it was important to have friends. It was important to blend in. The less he stuck out, the better. The faculty looked over his average grades with passive attentiveness. Sports clubs accepted then ignored his lack of physical inspiration. Student council saw another nameless uniform below their ranks.

No cause for concern. Just another round peg in a round hole. No need to take a closer look.

And he was okay with that. Things could always be worse, Kensuke remembered his father used to say. But things could always be better.

"Hey," he said during a lull in the conversation, "did you hear about the UN fleet sailing here today?"

Four pairs of eyes turned on him.

"Huh?" one of the boys asked. "The UN?"

"Yeah." Kensuke reflexed a grin. "It might be fun to go to the port after school." He kept his voice breezy, enticing without being invested. "The paper said they were just passing by but we might be able to see some fighters on the decks or…"

A delayed gauge of his audience finally caught up with him. At least they were trying to be polite.

"I don't know," the club leader said. He was a sickly boy with an unfortunate haircut. "I guess that stuff is technically in our interest but without any kind of planned demonstration or anything…"

Another boy, looking skeptical at best, nodded. "If something special was going to happen, they'd announce it beforehand. Like, to show off some new piece of equipment. Otherwise, what's the point? It's just some boats."

Consensus was reached. Kensuke held up a hand and offered a self-deprecating grin.

"Sorry. I haven't read all the club bylaws yet."

The delivery earned a round of chuckles and the boys returned to their pre-fleet discussion. Kensuke's eyes strayed towards the classroom windows.

A pair of birds swam through the air together outside and for a split second was perfectly framed by the middle windowpane. He snapped a picture in his mind, even as his hands itched upwards to grasp a phantom camera. After nearly a half year, the impulse still bobbed to the surface when he wasn't careful.

/\/\/\/\

School ended with dull inevitability. Kensuke gathered his belongings and walked out with the Tech club members who were chattering about a rumored new third party game console. They parted ways at the front gate and Kensuke watched the other boys disappear in a sea of bland uniforms. They disappeared, and he lost all thought of them.

Kensuke ambled down the five blocks from school to home. The thought of visiting the port alone to watch the fleet struck him sour. The thrill was gone, battered back into place underneath his obligations, buried with the rest of his real desires.

He rounded the final corner and spied his home, a lean apartment building resting between a business complex and a small park. He waited at the crosswalk, strumming his fingers against the strap of his backpack. He saw his neighbor from down the hall on her balcony, shaking out a bed sheet. The neighbor folded it with expert precision and speed. She smoothed out the wrinkles and spotted Kensuke. She waved and smiled. He waved back.

Keeping good terms with the neighbors was part of blending in. If he shut himself in his room, people would talk. If he aggressively pursued interaction, people would talk. Skating the line between the two extremes was easier than he imagined and he developed a kind of manipulative passivity around other people. His father called it "office manners." Force positive agreement, ease around disagreement, all within the veil of extreme civility. Never take offense and always look interested.

Kensuke called it "being a soulless dick." But he was resigned to it until he was out of school and on his own. The present was absorbed by a debt of obedience to his father, who casually accepted it. His father wasn't particularly adept at child rearing, or anything that didn't involve financial spreadsheets. His mother was a brief, warm memory obscured by time and his teenage stubbornness. He didn't want to rely on a parent, let alone a dead one.

At sixteen a deceased mother was less of a tragically cool back-story and more of a practical inconvenience. No one cooked or cleaned at home, laundry was hit-or-miss, there was no mediator to bridge the awkward, unspoken divide with his father. Maybe his mother could have eased the gnawing stress of the situation. Or maybe Kensuke would be dealing with two disappointed parents.

He turned away from his apartment building. His eyes landed on the market squatting across the busy street from his home. Maybe he'd visit it today, like he did nearly every day. He checked his wallet. He headed to it.

The chain market was bright and colorful, oversized tags displaying sales on racks of vividly artificial processed convenience. Kensuke perused the manga selection, taking his time to blend in and dull any worries. He neared the register with practiced indifference.

The cute girl behind the counter glanced up from her magazine at his approach and her face rearranged from agonized boredom to cheerful approachability.

"Can I help you?"

Kensuke casually tossed the book down. "And the usual," he said.

"Hmm?" the cute girl said, blinking at him. "What kind?"

"… Liquid Crystal Lite."

"Sure thing!"

The cute girl turned and opened the shelved cooler behind the counter to retrieve the expensive foreign soda. From the front, the cute girl was just a pretty face floating above the unfortunately frumpy convenience chain uniform apron. Nothing but jagged edges and bad hemlines. But this was a carefully crafted façade to fool the dull-witted supervisor and public at large. Her rebellion against corporate fashion edicts started small, from the strand of bright green dyed hair casually falling out of the uniform hat, and escalated to the cutoff jean shorts she hid under the apron.

The shorts were immaculately hand-torn, with a carefully frayed puff at the edges. None of that straggly, disorganized, single thread jutting down like a drowned rat's tail crap. The cut was tasteful enough to avoid showing side pocket, too. It only added to the tantalizing appeal. Sometimes encouraging the eye's imagination with a less-is-more approach works wonders.

The jean shade complimented her milky skin tone, the rough fabric providing a thrilling juxtaposition to her smooth, blemish-free legs. There were no razor nicks or moles, no discolorations or unwelcome bumps. Just the soft warm silk of her legs as they flowed from the jeans and poured into her delicate ankles displayed above a pair of beat up sneakers.

She bent at the waist, forming a perfect, if elongated heart from the curves of her hips sloping down to the hollows of her knees. Her left calf splayed slightly with careless allure. She twisted her foot at the toe as she dug through the cooler with a series of gentle clinks.

The cute girl plucked the orange colored soda with two fingers by the neck and turned back around to place it on the counter. The glass bottle sweated.

"Thanks," Kensuke said.

He had the performance timed perfectly and positioned himself to avoid a tiptoe stare, sure to attract the cute girl's peripheral vision. He was positive she employed fulltime radar for perverts, even beneath her minimum wage ensuring mask of friendly helpfulness. A girl this cute had to be careful.

"Thank you for your patronage!" the cute girl said with a modest bow after he paid. The green-dyed strand of hair swayed before her.

Kensuke left the market. He headed back to the crosswalk and waited at the light, idly nursing his soda as he looked for a discreet trash bin to drop it in. It was a thick, fizzy chemical concoction that stuck to his insides the whole way down. He grimaced. It was like swallowing a damp wool sleeve.

He was used to the bittersweet denouement. A mild karmic punishment for the brief bout of voyeurism. That, and he was paranoid someone might have seen him buy it just to throw it away and unravel his love of cut-off jeans. Not that he was ashamed, just cautious to the sensibilities of public morality and all the hypocritical ridicule and possible legal ramifications thereof.

He sighed with the bottle against his lips. It wasn't even a fifth empty yet.

Something like thunder cracked the sky. Everyone around him on the sidewalk stopped, looking for the source. Kensuke saw someone across the street pointing to a string of black smoke snaking into the air from the direction of the port.

Sirens sounded behind him and a line of police cars blurred past, followed by two fire engines. He watched them tear away as the string of smoke grew to a cloud.

 _An accident at the port?_ Kensuke thought. Now he wished he went, club or not. He set the soda by a bench and headed after the sirens. He wouldn't settle for photos in tomorrow's paper.

A VTOL swept low overhead, rattling building windows. That made him pause. If the SDF was involved maybe discretion was the better part of valor. It wouldn't be too long before the carrion flock of news vultures descended and filled him in via TV, anyways.

He shrugged in defeat. Home it was. Not that he was scared, but it might be best not to get in anyone's way. He headed back to the crosswalk.

He peered up at his apartment building. He tilted his head. The tall grey structure was leaning towards the street. Steel groaned. Glass cracked. Concrete crumbled. Individual floors began collapsing and folding together like an accordion.

And then the building gave completely and the top shuddered to the ground into the market with a thunderous cloud of agonized sound. Kensuke saw potted plants flying from balconies on the way down, lost with TV dishes and hanging clothes and his flailing neighbor before it was all swallowed by a dense shadowy explosion of dust that rolled along the street like a tidal wave.

Kensuke curled his arms over his head. All he heard was a dull bell tone. People and objects collided with him and he stumbled into a streetlamp, crouching against it for support. He remembered he needed air, and coughed every breath. The debris cloud lifted a few yards as he hugged the post, obscuring his surroundings and the height of the city in a grey-brown fog.

His hearing returned with a jolt. Sirens lit the air. People screamed. Someone was in his face, yelling. The sound ricocheted around his brain before coalescing into language.

"— _of here!"_ the soldier was barking at him. He was a beefy man in a dark UN uniform, a rifle clutched against his chest. "Get out of here, _now!_ "

A stuttering crackle broke through the noise and dim lights flashed in the thick air around the fallen apartment building.

Gunfire, Kensuke thought, peering at the soldier's weapon. It was louder than he imagined.

The UN soldier gave him a hard shove to get him moving before ducking towards the battle. The gunfire continued, noisy fireflies winking in and out of the dusty haze. Then a strange hissing whoosh swept over it all, followed by human screams for a piercing, stunning moment, and then silence.

Something moved in the haze.

Kensuke was running before he realized it. He blindly fled as fast as his thin legs would carry him. The small town he spent the last three months of his life in became alien. The school, the mall, the office circle, he saw them all for the first time as the only thought he could manage was to escape whatever destroyed his home and neighbor and the soldiers and the cute girl in the market.

He tripped over a baby carriage. He tumbled onto his side and saw the street around him filled with screaming, disorganized terror. He clawed his way to his knees and stopped. Within the horrified mob he picked out a single figure standing in the center of the intersection calmly observing the situation.

It was a girl, maybe his age, pretty, even at this distance, with flowing red hair clad in a long, heavy coat. She leisurely pulled a wheeled suitcase behind her. She looked bored with the whole scene, like all the destruction and death was a cheaply made horror film and she was sick of her stale popcorn and flat soda. Then she walked forward and Kensuke lost sight of her.

He scrambled to his feet and fled with the rest of the crowd. He ran without any sense of direction except keeping the chaos behind him. All he saw when he looked over his shoulder was the cloud of dust, stained over the sky.

A stuttering whir drew Kensuke's eyes. A VTOL drunkenly lurched between buildings, trailing a plume of dark smoke where its right stabilizer should be. It arced over his head and dropped to the street, breaking the cockpit open with a hard crunch. It pitched sideways, crushing its ordinance-packed left wing.

The explosion was a brilliant flowering white heat that consumed the street. Kensuke shielded his head on instinct. The din wavered to a metallic whistle in his ears and he peeked between his forearms. The white heat faded to orange patches of flaming wreckage dotting a jagged crater. The air was sulfur and oil.

Through the flames something tall and dark appeared, a spindly nine feet of skeletal arms and legs hanging off a wiry frame. It sluiced through the smoke and fire, glistening in the manic light. Its feet sank into the asphalt with a hissing steam, melting the surface on contact.

Its head was obscured by a strange white mask, cracked down the middle to expose an inhumanly large red eye. The eye did not move, but stayed unnaturally fixed on some distant point, its body treading through any obstacle in its way.

Kensuke scrambled on hands and knees into an abandoned clothing boutique and curled into a ball under the hem of a mannequin tilted against the broken display window's wall. He stared out at the devastated street in mute terror as the tall thing calmly strode away with a hunched, loping gait. The crowds were gone, dispersed or disappeared or dead. Kensuke stayed beneath the mannequin.

A bent car rolled across the street before him at preposterous speed, end over end until it smashed into the front steps of a bank with a tremendous crunch.

"Bull's-eye!" someone faintly hollered.

A boy entered the street, clad in a fitted suit of dark body armor with black piping. He ducked behind an abandoned sedan and peeked out as the car on the bank steps trembled, then lifted and fell to the side, revealing the tall thing. It struggled to right itself, then proceeded forward again.

The boy sighed. "Just stay down, man."

He pulled his right arm back, then punched the sedan he was hiding behind. The car dented on impact and went spinning across the asphalt into the tall thing. In an almost leisurely motion, it lifted a gaunt arm and sluiced it through the car, an acidic coating oozing from its palm. The vehicle clattered to the street in a melting heap of metal and rubber. The creature continued forward.

A street away, the boy casually backed up, hands on hips. "Making us do it the hard way…" He held a hand to his ear. "First, where are you?"

The redheaded girl appeared at the edge of the street. She moved behind cover, deftly handling her suitcase as she shed her long coat to reveal body armor with red piping. Her movements were fluid and composed. The girl stopped behind a small truck, bent to one knee and opened the suitcase. Inside was all polished, gleaming metal. Kensuke's eyes landed on a slick SMG propped among a collection of smaller arms. The girl hefted the gun out and held it for a moment, then lugged it into firing position and peeked out from the truck's back bumper.

The boy cracked his knuckles. "Here we go."

He ran to another car and punched it towards the tall thing. Before it made contact the girl attacked, peppering the undercarriage with short burst fire until it erupted in flames. The creature lurched through it, waving an arm towards its assailants, sending out a spray of acid across the street. The boy and girl had already moved to new positions, repeating the previous attack.

Each successive blow forced the tall thing back. Its reaction time slowed and its arm swipes turned random. Its spindly body began showing damage, blistering streaks of charred skin bubbling up in disorganized patches. Its left arm absorbed the full force of a car impact and hung limply at its side. The attack did not cease.

The creature stumbled backwards towards Kensuke's hiding spot. It collapsed to one knee and emitted a long, shrill cry. The effort made its burnt, broken body tremble. It wheezed and shuddered. The boy and girl relented, slowly closing the distance.

The tall thing made one last attempt to move forward. The girl leveled her weapon at its head and fired.

The red eye burst open. The back of its skull exploded behind the mask, sending hunks of fleshy matter and bone darting through the air. Blood splashed across the abandoned storefront and saturated Kensuke cowering between the mannequin's legs.

A million red needles dug into him, diving into pores to boil him inside out. He opened his mouth to scream. Darkness enveloped him before he heard any sound.

/\/\/\/\

End of chapter 1

Author notes: I like Kensuke a lot more now than when I first met him, ages ago. Writing stories around him helped. Now I enjoy his mania, his good-natured calculations, his frustrated optimism and grasping deviancies. I hope you will, too.

This is my first multi-chapter fic that I bothered planning out. So the disappointment will come with unprecedented focus and forethought.

Next chapter: Good news, Kensuke. You get to join an elite, high-tech agency staffed with super hot chicks. Bad news, Kensuke. It's still an Eva-verse, which means no one will ever be happy without an apocalypse or two.


	2. Christening

Covenant Red

Chapter 2: Christening

Disclaimer: I do not own Evangelion.

/\/\/\/\

He woke.

He was sore all over. Every nerve ending suffered under the shadow of some terrible abuse, like his muscles had pummeled the inside of his skin. He wondered if athletes felt like this after a tough match. All he had for comparison was the stiff hand cramp of too many video games.

His eyes split open to a needling kaleidoscope that rushed past him to settle into dull fuzzy normalcy. The accompanying wave of dizziness oozed out in a slow crawl as conscious awareness struggled to break through. His vision cleared, his head lagged behind. His eyes made a sluggish surveillance sweep.

He was on a thin bed in a square room with no windows. Every surface looked bleached beyond sterility. He didn't see a door.

"Am I in a hospital?" Kensuke wondered aloud.

"You're in our medical wing," a woman told him.

A tone sounded and a long strip of the far wall flashed, changing composition from opaque to transparent. Beyond the window was an observation room. Monitors glowing with inscrutable data lined the walls.

"I'm glad you're awake," the woman said. She sat at a small terminal behind the glass. Short blonde hair fell around her face. Green eyes alit on him from behind a pair of thin glasses. She offered a restrained smile. "I'm Dr. Ritsuko Akagi. You've been under my care since you arrived."

Kensuke was instantly alert. The woman was hot, and looked important. She wore a lab coat, so the doctor claim was instantly validated.

"Can you tell me your name?" she asked.

He did. She asked for his birthday and birthplace and he gave her those as well.

"Good," Ritsuko said as she scribbled something in a file. "Just need to be careful."

Were there other Kensuke Aidas trying to gain access to healthcare? A cadre of imposters running amok across the country using his identity to nickel and dime the government with extravagant elective procedures?

"So, you've got my information?" It was a small comfort, that he was still alive, this was still earth, and his medical records were accessible. All was right with the world.

Ritsuko held up a thin folder for his benefit. "Oh, right," she murmured as she flipped it back open, "it says here you wear glasses. We'll get you a replacement pair soon."

"No problem," Kensuke answered, trying to sound grateful.

He reflexively made to adjust his glasses and realized they were gone. He stared at his hand, usually a blurry smudge of pale color, now startlingly clear. Each pore and near-invisible hair stood out. He glanced around the room. Everything was defined and recognizable, vivid and bright. He could easily see the individual threads of his bed sheets.

"Huh," he said.

"What is it?"

"I can, ah, I can see just fine." Kensuke continued examining his cell. "Better than with glasses."

Ritsuko made a short humming noise. "Interesting."

"I mean, my eyes are, were, crappy. Always have been. But this is…" He trailed off. He knew he should be worried, or at least concerned. All he felt was a pleasant surprise. "Everybody in my family wears glasses but—"

He stopped. He remembered his apartment complex folding into itself and collapsing on the market. He remembered his neighbor vanishing in a tempest of dust.

"The city," he began, suddenly choked up. "My… My Dad, he—"

"Daigo Aida is alive," Ritsuko told him. He stared at her and she continued. "The business district was mostly untouched during the incident. He's alive."

Kensuke relaxed back against his pillow. "Oh. Good." He fidgeted. "Our place got destroyed. Like, the whole building gave out and crumbled. It felt like we just moved in."

She murmured assent, turning back to the folder.

"I mean, we were there a few months but it never felt like home. It was always so quiet. We barely ever saw each other. But it's good he's okay. After what happened…"

Further memories worked to right themselves. A wounded VTOL skimming buildings, fire. A tall person sinking into the asphalt. The redheaded girl with the SMG.

"… What happened?"

A door behind Ritsuko slid open to reveal a tall woman. Her walk was understated but important, purposeful. Dark hair spilled out over a uniform collar to her back. Paramilitary dress could not erase her curves. Under Kensuke's exacting inspection she looked hotter and more important than Ritsuko.

 _Sorry, Doc._

The new woman approached the Doctor and bent to ear level, the two exchanging quick words. She glanced up at Kensuke, a room away. Beyond dark, heavily lined eyes, her skin was flawless. She rose and crossed her arms.

"At least sit up straight," Ritsuko chided Kensuke. She sighed when he remained slouched. "Say hello to Commander Misato Katsuragi, the boss around here."

 _This babe is the CO? Sign me up._ "Oh, um, hey."

"He's not the most courteous candidate. Well, maybe he's simply a slow riser. He was asleep for quite a while."

"How long was I out?"

"Three days. We were beginning to think you'd never wake up."

"Three days," Kensuke mused. "I bet my dad was real worried." He did not bet his dad was real worried.

"Our ministry liaison briefed him on the situation. He agreed it was in your best interest to be left in our care."

"Whoa," he interrupted. "My old man just gave me up?"

"No. He was given remuneration—"

"He _sold_ me?"

"I wouldn't put it that way—"

Misato approached the glass and spoke. "Daigo Aida ceded custody of you for medical care. As long as you're undergoing treatment you're our responsibility. We are the best suited to help you right now. We will help you. But you, in turn, have to help us."

"Help you?" Kensuke repeated. "Uh, I can't exactly pay you guys for services rendered or anything…"

"Don't worry about the bill," Ritsuko said glibly. "Compliments of the house."

"This is a delicate situation," the Commander stated. "As I said, we can help each other, and in doing so, help the rest of humanity. A dangerous world needs you right now, and we will protect you with all of our strength. But we need your commitment and cooperation. Will you join us?"

"What if I say no?"

Both women stared at him. Neither offered any tells.

"We'll return you to your father," Misato said.

"You'll be required to check in with our medical team now and then," Ritsuko continued. "But for the most part it shouldn't be too disruptive…" She trailed off, catching Misato's gesture for silence.

Kensuke missed it. He was staring at his slim hands. He held a memory of his father's bony fingers gripping a newspaper like a shield across a silent kitchen table.

Kensuke sighed. "I guess I'll say yes."

"Glad to hear it," Misato said without cheer. She fixed him with a stare. "Welcome to WILLE."

/\/\/\/\

"Never heard of it," Kensuke answered.

"Good."

"We're attached to the UN through the SDF," Ritsuko explained. "Technically. In practice we're on our own. You've never heard of us because our existence isn't public knowledge."

"So, you're like, what? A private hospital or something?" he asked, feeling dumb as he said it.

"Actually, we are a medical research facility. On paper. Our real duties place us closer to a wing of the defense ministry." The doctor appraised him. "What do you know about the ongoing evacuations around the capital?"

"The terrorist attacks?" Kensuke struggled to hide how woefully uninformed he was about his own country's defense situation. "Um, they started about a year ago? There haven't been a lot of details about who's doing them or why…" He hoped that was vaguely casual enough to prevent them from thinking he was a total moron.

"They aren't terrorist attacks," Ritsuko said. "Not in the traditional sense. Most of the destruction and casualties were collateral damage. Even the incident in your town three days ago, while unfortunate, was not intentional."

"Say what?"

"The perpetrators, what the public calls 'terrorists,' are not religious fanatics or radical anarchists. They are something much different."

A screen expanded on the glass partition before him. It showed a grainy still image of a tall, spindly creature wearing a strange white mask cracked down the middle, exposing a bulbous red eye. The thing that attacked his home.

"We call them Nephilim."

"Inhuman things with human shapes," Misato said. "WILLE exists to stop them."

"Why isn't the SDF handling this directly?" Kensuke asked, effectively insulting both women. "Or the UN or something? Why you guys?"

"Given the current situation, we're the best equipped to detect and combat Nephilim. Both are an imprecise art form and we at WILLE are the best suited to the task." Ritsuko glanced at Misato. "We were formed to collect data on Nephilim, and we can gather, assimilate, and utilize information against them faster and more efficiently than anyone else."

"Not everyone agrees with that fact," Misato intoned.

They explained the Nephilim they were ordered to capture was commandeered by the UN and was to be transported out of the country for research, using the fleet's pre-planned cruise as cover. The UN was still, technically Ritsuko said again, calling the shots.

"Idiots," the Commander breathed.

"We were trying to be as low-key as possible with the fleet's cruise," Ritsuko explained. "We didn't want any interference. Containing public knowledge will control panic and limit casualties."

 _Yeah,_ Kensuke thought. _That worked out real well._ "So, it obviously got loose. What happened?"

"It's under investigation."

"Still? Hasn't it been three days?"

"A good portion of the city was damaged," Misato reminded him. "Dozens of civilians and soldiers were killed."

"The public is still digging out. This was the worst 'terrorist attack' in over a year."

"So all the terrorist attacks were really these Nephilim things," Kensuke said. "What do they want?"

"We are their target," Misato told him. "They want WILLE's destruction, and will work to bring it about, tearing through anything in their way."

"UN troops, your apartment building…" Ritsuko added.

The two women let the gravity of the situation impress upon him.

Kensuke cleared his throat. "I hate to interrupt," he began, suddenly feeling four years old, "but is there a bathroom around here? Or am I confined to quarters?"

"You feel strong enough to stand?"

"Yeah. I feel fine."

A swift series of keystrokes by Ritsuko and a seamless panel beside his bed pulled back into the wall to display a sleek, polished metal toilet and sink.

 _Neat._ "Thanks." Kensuke slid his bare feet onto the cold floor, his muscles wobbling only a moment. He entered the new compartment. "… A little privacy, please?"

"… Give a shout when you're done."

The long window between the rooms cleared and went opaque. He immediately lifted his hospital gown.

"Thought they'd never stop talking."

He washed his hands and gazed at his reflection in the small mirrored panel over the sink. He couldn't recall the last time he saw himself so clearly without glasses. He brushed his sandy hair to the sides for an unobstructed view.

He peered closer. He delicately held his left eye open. The familiar dull iris was speckled with bright red spots. The spots seemed to catch the light, winking crimson as he moved.

"Huh," he said.

/\/\/\/\

Kensuke sat on the bed, realizing he was trapped until they decided otherwise. He cleared his throat again, preparing to alert his captors he was done. The wall panel flashed before he could speak and revealed the doctor and commander. Kensuke wondered if his privacy a moment ago was genuine. He tried to push it away.

"So," he began, "you said I can help you if you help me? How?"

An afterschool job wasn't high on his list of priorities but with his father removed from the picture the notion of needing money and shelter was beginning to form.

"We will need your help defending this city from the Nephilim."

A few more images expanded on the glass partition, stills of creatures with a bizarre forfeiture of human anatomy. Here, a being with two long glowing cords where arms should be, there, something with a reflective blue pyramid for a face.

"We said Nephilim are inhuman. Part of what makes them so is their blood. It grants them access to extraordinary abilities. However, it is possible to force those abilities to appear in a human. Basically," Ritsuko said, "Nephilim blood can trigger a rapid evolution of genes that reforms your physical state, making you more than human."

A new window appeared on the glass, displaying a small headshot of the redheaded SMG girl smiling brilliantly with wide, sparkling eyes.

"Asuka Langley Soryu was the first person to gain what we call 'blood skill,' the ability of the evolved genetic state. The ability gained seems to be developed randomly. Soryu's blood skill grants her expert knowledge of any tool or weapon she holds, but only as long as she holds it."

"That still seems pretty broken," Kensuke said. "Why use anyone else when she can shoot like an ace all the time?"

"Nephilim defenses aren't as flimsy as a human's. Conventional weapons only go so far. That, and it does require a degree of concentration that isn't always readily available in the heat of battle. Just because she knows how to use a weapon doesn't mean she can't face overwhelming odds."

Another window expanded, this one showing the somber face of the boy with short hair.

"Toji Suzuhara was the second person to gain blood skill. His lets him manipulate his body's mass, mitigating damage or temporarily redirecting force to a specific point."

Kensuke remembered the boy punching cars across an entire street.

"You were exposed to Nephilim blood, too."

The tall creature, bowed and beaten, flashed before him. Its skull opened like a fast-shutter flower blooming. Blood knifed through his skin.

"The emergence of blood skill is all but assured," Ritsuko stated. "We'll need to keep a very close eye on you until then."

Kensuke tried to absorb everything that was happening. He scratched his head.

"So, you had one of those Nephilim things captured and opted _not_ to hand out new powers? Instead you shipped it off? Why not make a whole army of soldiers with blood skills? I mean, I just got in the way. I kind of get the feeling I'm a defective product."

"Soryu and Suzuhara possessed very particular profiles and were in controlled environments," Ritsuko began with a sidelong glance at her Commander. "We can't just expose people at random—"

"We won't expose people at random," Misato corrected. "It is a risky operation and I will not endanger any more lives." She turned slightly on Kensuke. "What happened to you was an accident. If I could take it back, I would. But I can't. All I can do now is utilize you as best I can to protect everyone else. But know you are lucky to be alive at all."

Her face was set. Her mouth was compressed to a thin line. Her eyes never wavered. Kensuke still found her incredibly attractive.

 _What have I gotten myself into?_ He tried to chuckle. "I guess it's too late to back out, huh?"

"Don't worry," Ritsuko eased. "You are first and foremost an invaluable research specimen. The only human to have uncontrolled contact with Nephilim blood and survive. We will do everything we can to ensure your personal safety."

That did not entirely assuage his concerns. These women, he reflected in a rare moment of clarity beyond his hormones, were not the most comforting of wake-up calls. WILLE apparently did not put much stock in customer service.

He shrugged. "So, is being stuck in here part of that safety? Really, I feel fine. And I could eat a horse."

Another exchanged glance. Kensuke frowned. Were they expecting him to mope or freak out?

"… I'm sure the caf can fix you something. But since you feel so great, I believe some introductions are in order first." The doctor smiled at his lack of comprehension. "WILLE isn't run just by the two of us. Since you agreed to join, you should meet the rest of the team."

/\/\/\/\

After a blood draw and awkwardly thorough physical examination, Ritsuko again explaining she was a real doctor, and after a round of verbal comprehension tests quizzing him on such brain busters as the current month and year, Kensuke was released from his tiny cell. Beyond was a windowless hallway stretching dozens of yards in either direction. Everything was sterile white, gleaming under harsh embedded fluorescents. Ritsuko was still with him, along with Misato and three heavily armored, armed guards. Kensuke stopped short.

"For protection," Ritsuko said causally.

She nudged him forward and the procession continued. He lost all sense of direction after two turns, trying to glean some orientation from the numerous stenciled shut doors they passed. Eventually they stopped at one of the closed doors and it opened to reveal a moderate sized receiving room, complete with couches and tables.

"Commander!" a man with glasses saluted, snapping to attention. The other adults in the room followed suit at sight of Misato, and she waved the formality away.

"At ease," she said for their benefit.

Kensuke scanned the room as names were handed out. Aside from the expected compliment of anonymous adults in uniform, and two more armed guards, he spied a pair of teenagers at the far wall. He recognized the Suzuhara boy from his debriefing session, tall and fit, with the loosely confident posture of an athlete. Kensuke immediately disliked him.

The redheaded girl Soryu was beside him leaning against the wall, her hands buried in the pockets of a jacket. She somehow made impassivity look threatening. The boxy hospital gown WILLE gave him did little to bolster his confidence. It was hard to impress girls wearing a formless paper bag.

Beside him, Misato was addressing the crowd. "Kensuke Aida agreed to join us," she introduced with a sweep of her hand. "He's the newest member of WILLE, effective immediately."

The lack of applause, or at least approval, didn't raise his morale.

"Um, hi," he tried with a short wave.

"Greetings," the man with glasses offered after no one else did.

"Oh, yes," a woman with short hair beside him said. "Welcome to the team."

"Do I get a codename?" Kensuke asked.

Suzuhara snickered behind a hand. Soryu looked sickened. Ritsuko gave her Commander an uneasy look.

"Your designation is the Third Child," Misato stated, unmoved.

"Child?" He was disappointed and insulted.

"It's the designation we give everyone like you," Ritsuko explained, nodding briefly at the other teenagers in the room. "Soryu is the First, Suzuhara is the Second. You're the Third."

"Oh…"

"You get used to it," Toji said with a broad grin. "Welcome aboard, Third. I never thought we'd get another recruit." He pumped his fist in the air in front of Soryu. "And the boys finally outnumber the girls."

"This is bullshit," she spat, glaring around her feet. While not containing a boisterously jovial mood, she effectively slew any good cheer in the room. "Recruiting a dreg from off the street. The last thing we need is a rookie dragging us down further. You've lost your mind, Katsuragi."

A moment passed as the other adults weighed speaking up in defense. Misato cut them all off.

"It is a recruitment you necessitated," she said. "You rushed to eliminate the target before securing the site."

"Don't you dare put this on me," Asuka said. "Thermals gave no indication a civie was nearby. It's not my fault he didn't evacuate with the UN flunkies and the rest of the cattle—"

"Take a walk, Soryu."

The girl snapped her mouth shut, turned, and strode from the room in thunderous silence. Suzuhara rolled his eyes. The adults exchanged nervous glances.

 _Wow,_ Kensuke thought.

The SMG girl just insulted him, WILLE, the UN and her commanding officer in under a minute before storming out of the room, demanding everyone's attention. All with no provocation.

 _She is so damn cool._

/\/\/\/\

End of chapter 2

Author notes: That was Matariel last time, finally earning a respectable kill count.

Info dump chapter. But it's done now. Why do I insist on these protracted setups? Zero confidence hiding behind long-windedness. Also, I hate writing battle sequences.

Next chapter: Kensuke's natural inclinations struggle against WILLE's dress code, Asuka's the next Rembrandt, Toji's a big fat cheater, and I manage to go one more chapter without a battle sequence.


	3. Another Transfer

Covenant Red

Chapter 3: Another Transfer

Disclaimer: I do not own Evangelion.

/\/\/\/\

Kensuke woke before his alarm. He groaned into his pillow, groping blindly for his glasses on the nightstand. His hand fell into empty space. He dragged his face free from the pillow and stared.

Even in the near dark his room was a clear collection of shadows. He saw the edge of his bed collapse into the inky black of the far wall. He saw lazy dust motes dance in the slice of air left bright by the window blind's edge.

He no longer needed glasses. He had the blood of a Nephilim inside him. He was the Third Child.

This was now reality.

He rolled in bed, gazing up at the dark ceiling.

"Awesome."

Kensuke hopped out of bed and left his empty bedroom. The rest of the apartment was similarly stocked. No furniture aside from the single bed and a knee-high fridge in the kitchen. The walls were all inoffensive off-white. Everything smelled of dull antiseptic. The design lacked originality and emotion, a bad motel on a low budget.

But it was his.

On a whim, Kensuke opened the refrigerator. Two water bottles greeted him. He shut the door and marveled at his lack of outrage. He moved in late last night, in a dull haze of confusion after being in WILLE's windowless base for days of tests. He lost all track of time confined, being shuffled between a collection of sterile white rooms, seeing only Dr. Akagi and her staff. Even the vaguest of inquiries about other WILLE members was met with an unfailingly serene "It's classified."

Ritsuko oversaw a laundry list of tests on him: Physical and eye exams, x-rays, MRIs, EKGs, countless blood draws and even written comprehension assessments, all the while bringing him up to speed on the world he now belonged to. Including reassignment to the capital, a short tram ride away from WILLE's base outside the city limits. It was refreshing to be in the real world again after being deemed healthy and safe, even if it was only in an unfurnished apartment.

His tiled bathroom was startlingly clean. He hummed as he brushed his teeth. He sang as he showered. He wandered back to his bedroom and nudged the closet door open with a bare foot. Inside three identical sets of clothes hung from a rack. The school uniform, he assumed it was a school uniform, was sober but expensive-looking. Well made, but lacking flair or originality. Dull tan with red trim helped inspire the desired conformity.

He examined the uniform tie, weighing it in his hand. He needed some teenage reality in this wardrobe, and this apartment. All of his possessions were gone, buried under the Nephilim's devastation. Kensuke considered asking WILLE for a loan. They were fronting the apartment and appeared to spare no expense for arms; surely they could throw a few bills his way for a TV. Nothing extravagant. Just a simple thirty-two incher. Maybe a forty incher. And a last-gen game console. And a couple games.

He was forming a spreadsheet in his mind over the growing tally when the front bell buzzed. It took a moment for Kensuke to reorient himself in the barren apartment. He threw on the uniform and rushed to the front door, opening it without bothering to check the security feed.

"Good morning, Mr. Aida," the young woman on his doorstep responded with a cheerful smile. She waited for reciprocation and got none. "I'm Maya Ibuki? We met at HQ?"

 _How could I forget?_ Even under the towering beauty of Soryu and the Commander and Dr. Akagi, a shining gem like Ms. Ibuki was not easily overlooked. "No, I remember," Kensuke told her, a bit too enthusiastically.

Maya didn't seem to notice. "Great! So, are you ready?"

"For…?"

"For school, of course!" She was still all smiles. "I'm here to drive you on your first day." She nodded vaguely to her side. "I actually live two floors up, so it's not out of my way or anything. I thought this might be nicer than braving the tram circuit."

He brightened. "Yeah. Sure." He hadn't bothered to think how he was supposed to get to his new school until now.

They walked down to the apartment parking lot. In a reserved space sat a pristine sedan. Maya fished a Sanrio keychain from her pocket and unlocked the car doors. The interior looked as immaculately clean as the outside.

"Thanks," Kensuke said, sliding into the passenger seat. "I sort of overslept, so this is great."

Maya sat behind the wheel with a cringe, but still smiled. "Please don't get your hopes up for a ride every day. My shifts are pretty crazy. But I made sure to get this morning off."

"Thanks," he said again, feeling a warm swell. Maybe WILLE people weren't all crazy.

"You're welcome. You know, Asuka and Toji live in the building, too. Maybe you could go to school with them from now on."

She sounded full of cheery hope at the prospect. Kensuke was less optimistic. Soryu seemed intent on fostering her hatred for him, all the while deftly ignoring any culpability for his current situation. Suzuhara seemed sane enough, although it might be a carefully constructed mask of coolness to attract the many fine ladies of WILLE. Plus, he looked like a jock. Not ideal best friend material.

They pulled out from the apartment parking lot and slipped into the flow of morning traffic. Maya was a conscientious driver; she leaned forward in her seat, her hands clutched ten and two.

"I think you'll like Comfort 17," she said, eyes never leaving the road. "The base actually has living quarters on-site, but it's important to have a life outside WILLE. Lt. Aoba lives there. He always argues it's more convenient and safer, but you lose touch with reality. We need to remember the people outside, who we're working to protect. And the base can get a little cabin-fevery. You need real sunshine sometimes."

"Mmm."

Kensuke gripped the armrest on the door, ordering his new high definition eyes not to carefully examine Maya Ibuki's left thigh, clad in pale tights and revealed to a dangerous degree by WILLE's uniform skirt and her posture.

"And you're still young," she went on. "You should be learning, making friends and having important experiences while you can. It's that normal kind of life we want to return to and preserve. And going to school, even in the midst of our crisis, is important to maintain the standard for normal. We can't bury our heads in the sand and forget, focusing only on the here and now. That kind of mindset can be dangerous, for everyone."

She eased off the gas before a stoplight, forcing her skirt hem up another maddening fraction of an inch. Kensuke wondered if the tights were light enough to show off the shade of her underwear. Would she favor a traditional solid color, or maybe cling to her youth through a playful print? Was she a no-nonsense cotton kind of girl, or did she possess a naughty satin streak?

"We can't lose sight of our goal. It can be easy to do when we're fighting, and when everyone is so focused on that. But you're part of our team now. I think an outside perspective will help everyone remember what exactly we're fighting for. So we'll try hard to help you, if you try to help us."

She absently tugged her skirt down, only to have it slide further up her leg.

"Thanks for the uniform," Kensuke blurted, plucking at his shirt.

Maya laughed lightly. "I'm sure your place wasn't furnished. The farther we stray from base, the thinner our budget gets. I'll bug Lt. Hyuga today about fast tracking your stipend."

The word refocused him entirely. "Stipend?"

"Well, yeah. You're going to need money to live here. Food, clothes, academic expenses, toiletries and the like." She dared to let her eyes glance towards his general direction. "Uh, I mean, we'll take care of utilities and bills and medical…" She bit her bottom lip. "Just focus on school for now, okay?"

The promise of money silenced any dissention. "Sure."

Maya pulled off a main street and stopped before a wide staircase traveling up a low hill. A number of teenagers wearing Kensuke's uniform were ascending to a complicated structure above. With a profound fetishistic disappointment Kensuke noted the female uniforms did not feature ties.

"Here we are," Maya announced. "Oh! Right. I almost forgot."

She handed him a cell phone and he hid his frown. It was sleek but government standard-issue, no bells or whistles.

"In case we need to reach you, or you need to reach us," she explained. "The labeled numbers in there bypass the main directory, but only call in an emergency, okay? Otherwise, I'm sure Toji and Asuka can answer any questions."

"I'll keep that in mind." He waved, then reached for the door handle. He smiled at her. "Thanks for the ride."

"Um… Here," Maya said, leaning over towards him. Kensuke froze as she quickly undid his tie, then redid it correctly. "There. Got to make a good first impression in your new school." She patted the tie and he stumbled backwards out of the car.

"Y-Yeah." He stiffly shut the open door.

"Have a good day!" Maya called out before slipping back into traffic and disappearing.

"Yeah."

/\/\/\/\

Kensuke walked up the wide staircase with the last straggling students flirting with truancy. He crested the hill and the school spread before him, a sprawling complex of interconnected buildings situated between a series of manicured sports fields. It all looked expensive and prestigious, if thinly used. Kensuke walked beneath the front gates to a lobby, and went to locating the faculty advisor office.

A new school, a new life. Kensuke felt liberated, unchained from the phantom shackles of his pre-Nephilim existence. All sins were forgiven and he was granted a fresh identity. No one knew him, he had no father to answer to any longer. He was free.

He was directed to class 1A on the first floor of the main building. Year two was on the second floor, and seniors were spread in the auxiliary wings. The halls were wide, each room clearly labeled. Outside class 1A he saw a freckled girl, her brown hair collected in a tight ponytail. She waved as he neared.

"Hello," she said with a quick bow. "I'm the class representative, Hikari Horaki. I'm pleased to meet you."

He returned the formality. "Me too."

"I'm kind of surprised we're getting a transfer _in_ ," she went on. "These days it's a steady stream out. But we're always happy to see a new face." She peered at him.

"Something wrong?"

"Oh!" Hikari pulled away and blushed appropriately. "No. Sorry. It's just you have, um, interesting contact lenses. I've never seen that style before."

"… Yeah. Uh, I'm not breaking the dress code, am I?"

She laughed lightly. "No. I may be a class representative, but I do know some rebellion can be good for students. Just don't go dying your hair a crazy color."

He assured her she would not have to worry about that. Funny contacts would be the extent of his dealings with the local teenage disciplinary squad.

Hikari led him inside the classroom. He quickly scanned for Soryu. On a remote plane of consciousness, he realized WILLE would likely consolidate their resources within the school, positioning the Children as close as possible to each other for rapid deployment in the dire case of an attack. It was bolstered by Maya earlier as she intimated Toji and Asuka would be close by to direct him.

On a closer plane of consciousness, he just wanted to see how Soryu filled out the school uniform.

He spotted her in the second row by the windows. She was tall and lithe. Long, agile limbs flowed out of the school uniform, which turned flattering and stylish on her. Wide, striking eyes sparkled. Her features were stunningly exotic. Her posture was confident. Everything about her communicated unapproachable perfection.

She stared down at her open desk terminal, one hand delicately holding her chin, the other idly working the keyboard. Even under the crushing rote homogeny of public school life she stood out without effort. Were these other girls even trying? Then again, why bother? Best to concede defeat and try to salvage your life. You can't compete with the ideal.

"Mr. Aida?"

"Yo," he answered on reflex. The class giggled. He recalled where he was. "I mean, yes, sir?"

The teacher gave him a dull stare from his podium. "I said, if you would care to introduce yourself now?"

"Right, right. Sorry." He chalked his name on the board and read it aloud for any blind students. He readied the back-story WILLE pushed on him in case of follow-up questions: his father transferred him to the capital for its educational opportunities. No one asked.

"Very well. Let's see about a seat…"

Suzuhara, sitting low in his chair in the back, whistled sharply, startling everyone. "The transfer can sit over here," he announced with a slow wave.

The teacher looked over the rest of the room. There were plenty of open seats. "I suppose…" he relented, watching his new pupil already edging his way to the rear. "Well, alright, then. Enough excitement. Let's begin."

Kensuke reached the empty desk beside Toji. He glanced at him expectantly and he leaned over.

"Got to look after our own, right?"

"Yeah." Kensuke couldn't tell if he was being sincere. "Thanks, Suzuhara."

He waved the formality away. "Call me Toji. It'll be easier."

"Oh. Sure. Uh, call me Kensuke, then."

"Sounds like a plan."

Classes began. Kensuke successfully resisted the urge to dive into the school's computer system and did his best to pay attention to the teacher's lesson. The material possessed a stricter mentality and difficulty level than his previous school, but without the individual consideration of a smaller classroom, despite the many empty seats. It reeked of standardized conformity.

He kept himself awake until lunch before he realized he had no bento or money. Toji seemed to read his mind.

"Come on," he said, rising to his feet and stretching. "I'll treat you today. The cafeteria isn't anything special but it gets the job done."

Kensuke felt a stab of stubborn spite, despite his lack of breakfast. He wasn't a charity case. "Thanks, but I don't want to be a bother."

"Forget all that. Unless you want to treat me." He grinned. "I figured WILLE didn't exactly cover all your necessities. They can lose sight of little details like food and shelter. Honestly, I'm shocked they remembered your uniform. Well, appearances are everything, I guess."

He was readying a firmer refusal when a pair of tall boys approached Toji. They exchanged a wave.

"Yo," one said, before glancing at Kensuke. "Uh, what's going on, man?"

"It's my civic duty to bring the transfer up to speed," Toji said with a dull flare of drama.

"Civic duty?"

"Alright, alright. I know I've been slacking off lately so I'm hoping to keep the tiger in its den." He nodded at the class representative near the front of the room.

That appeased the boys entirely and they relaxed before departing amiably. Toji watched them leave before speaking again.

"I probably won't be able to eat with you every day, but…" He noticed Kensuke eyeing him. "Hey. This isn't a chore for me. I don't do pity. Just, you know, until you get your bearings and all we should hang out."

Kensuke felt an acute pang of guilt for trying so hard to dislike the boy. He shrugged it away.

"So," he began, careful to stay casual, "you hang out with Soryu at lunch, too, or what?"

"Or what," Toji replied with a dull snort. "Lowly mortals like us don't make her radar outside WILLE. Even there, it's fifty-fifty. You may have noticed she isn't the friendliest person around. It's safer to stay out of her way."

"Oh. Still, isn't that bad for, um, team morale?"

He gave Kensuke an amused grin. "Look at you, the eager new recruit. Don't worry about all that yet. Akagi said your blood skill hasn't fully manifested, so we won't be throwing you into combat soon."

Kensuke had failed to consider the prospect of eventual battle. Somehow, he couldn't see himself punching cars at inhuman monsters. Guns seemed a safer bet. Maybe Soryu could give him lessons.

They left class, Kensuke catching one last sight of Asuka at her desk with a spread of store-bought convenience as her repast. How did she keep that figure on such a diet?

 _Damn,_ he thought. _So cool._

/\/\/\/\

"Mr. Aida?"

He looked up from his desk. Class was over for the day and the other students were packing up to leave. Suzuhara left as soon as the bell rang, offering only a brief wave. Soryu was in the process of dragging her body out of her chair. Before him was the ponytailed class representative.

"Ms. Horaki, right?"

"Yes. I hope you're finding our school a good fit. I know moving can be a big adjustment, and classes here tend to be dismissive of that fact, so if you have any questions feel free to ask me."

"No questions," Kensuke said, hoping to end the meeting here and now.

"Very well. I just wanted to make sure. But before you go, if I could ask a favor…"

Hell. Did he have a target for disciplinarians on him?

"I know it's your first day here, but could you at least look in at the clubs? It might inspire other students to take a renewed interest. And it would give existing club members a nice confidence boost."

Kensuke weighed his options, or lack thereof. His only after-school plans consisted of inquiring into the stipend Ms. Ibuki mentioned that morning and then proceeding to blow through it at an electronics store. Club activities were definitely not on the agenda.

At the same time, he hoped to stay off the radar of any authority figures in school. Some habits were harder to break than others. And Ms. Horaki's tone, although mild and bright, communicated no deviation from her chosen path. He shrugged in defeat.

"Sure," he said. "I'll check around."

Hikari took the victory in stride with a quick nod. "Here's a list with schedules," she told him, plucking a sheet from the stack in her arms. "Please try not to disrupt them when you visit."

With that she was off and Kensuke rose from his desk with dull obedience. He looked the schedule over and didn't meet any surprises. There were a good number of standards available, as expected of an expensive school in the capital, but there wasn't much for him to get excited about.

He stepped into the hall. Art was closest. He sent a limp knock against the door and it creaked open. Thick glasses peeked out from a curtain of wiry gray hair.

"May I help you?"

"I guess," he said. "I just transferred in today. You're the Art teacher?"

"Indeed," the woman responded, pulling the door wide to let him enter. She was thin and crooked, cloaked in a flowing dress that tickled the floor. "Welcome to my humble studio. Please, please; come in."

She ushered him to the front of the room. It was a lean crowd, observing him with polite neutrality. Kensuke stumbled as he spotted Asuka among them, who casually ignored him.

The teacher positioned him facing front. She backed away with a gesture of presentation to her pupils.

"Uh, hi," he said. "I'm Kensuke Aida."

"Yes, the new transfer is already joining us. What school spirit."

"Maybe joining," Kensuke quickly clarified. "Just thinking about it. Weighing my options."

"Oh." The Art teacher looked baffled why he wasn't already picking up an easel and brush. "Well, you can observe today and then join."

"We'll see."

"Yes." The teacher was a fount of optimism for the prospect.

Kensuke loitered by the exit as the day's lesson began, still life with oils. The students lined up in a horseshoe around a stool displaying a vase with a single rose bent over its side.

The subject matter seemed cliché, even to a Philistine like Kensuke, but the Art teacher was saturated with a mellow, good-natured enthusiasm for everything she said and did. Her old age seemed impervious to cynicism. She appeared incapable of not smiling.

"Let the subject be a foundation for you," she was saying as she floated behind the students. "Don't be confined by the colors and shapes you see with your eye; let your brush be guided by your emotions. How does it make you _feel?_ Does a rose conjure memories, good or bad? I don't want a painting of _this_ vase and flower. I want a painting of _your_ vase and flower."

 _Oh, brother,_ Kensuke thought as the rest of the class dipped into whatever well of tolerance artistic people had access to. He considered leaving outright but he remembered Asuka and he slowly made his way around to see how she was dealing with the assignment.

She ignored his approach and he congratulated himself for it. With a silent sigh Asuka plucked a brush up and stared hard at it. Her bright blue eyes flashed blood red for a soft moment.

 _What the hell?_

In a deft flourish of motion Asuka forced three unrelated brushstrokes into the form of a rose. Then the curve of the stem over the lip of the vase. Then the vase with more fluid strokes that defied disorder. The shape and coloring were spot-on. The texture was palpable. It was a perfect recreation.

"Wow," Kensuke blurted, breaking the class' silence.

The other students startled and turned towards him, then to what he was gaping at. Asuka didn't move at all. Even as her classmates crowded around she accepted their subdued accolades without expression.

Why weren't they amazed or at least excited? To Kensuke, this was real art, not abstract craziness or pretentious bullshit. Soryu was an artist.

He remembered her eyes flashing red, and Dr. Akagi's explanation of her blood skill. She gained mastery over any tool she held. Be it a deadly SMG, or a mundane paintbrush. He worked hard against the sudden sour feeling.

"Asuka," the teacher began gently as she approached. "This is a beautiful painting as always. But I wanted you to paint something we couldn't see. A feeling, or an emotion."

"I didn't see the point."

The teacher looked deeply affected. "Expressing emotions is never pointless, Asuka."

Asuka discreetly rolled her eyes. Kensuke got the impression this was not a new argument.

"I can't concentrate with an audience," she said, and Kensuke was again in the spotlight.

The teacher looked stricken between comforting her star pupil and recruiting a new unknown. He decided to make it easy for her.

"I should probably get going," he explained, already backing towards the door. "A lot of other club possibilities. Thanks for letting me peek in."

He made one last silent attempt to draw Asuka's eyes as he exited. She refused him.

/\/\/\/\

After quick stops in Music and Home Ec, and even quicker reminders he had no aptitude with either, Kensuke simply wandered around the spacious academy. The main building alone was easily more than twice the size of his previous school, featuring all the amenities expected of a capital institution. Everything was clean and polished, expensive and large. He got lost twice.

Eventually he found a door leading outside and stepped into the late afternoon sun. Most of the campus was deserted as he meandered through the halls, everyone in clubs or on their way home. Outside, a few sports teams occupied the fields surrounding the school proper and Kensuke strayed towards them.

He idly scanned the teams, passing over the activities with little interest until he spotted Toji among a group of boys at a basketball court. They were in the midst of a team scrimmage, five players in school jerseys, the other five wearing them inside out. They all performed with a good-naturedly heated attitude.

Kensuke shrugged. He was tired from wandering the school and decided to give his fellow Child some support. That, and he wasn't entirely sure how to get back home by himself. He loosened his uniform tie and got comfortable on the bleachers, deciding to wait the practice out.

Toji was, amazingly, not the tallest player. To Kensuke's uneducated eye he was good, slipping through traffic and working the ball all in the context of the team's structure. Despite the scrimmage, Toji was fouled. He stepped up to the free throw line without malice. He stood straight, holding the ball close to the side of his face. He exhaled.

Toji's eyes flashed blood red. His arms traced a perfect arc to propel the ball through the air and into the waiting basket with a whisper of contact. The other team scrambled after the loose ball as Toji collected a few claps on the back. Kensuke frowned.

He watched the rest of the game. It was close; only two late baskets giving Toji's side a victory. He did not use blood skill again.

The crowd dispersed as the players toweled off and cleared the court. Toji spotted Kensuke in the stands and waved. He parted ways with his teammates and headed over to him.

"Hey there," he said, taking a seat beside him. "I didn't know you were a sports fan. We can always use another player."

"Ah, no. I was checking out the clubs and sort of ended up here."

The response didn't seem to offend Toji at all. "The class rep got to you, huh?"

"I felt like I'd be strangling a kitten if I said no to her."

"Years of training. She is a master of politely making you do crap you hate."

Kensuke hesitated. "You're pretty good. I'm no expert, but you were really, ah, quick and accurate."

"Thanks," came the bemused response.

"Like I said, I'm no expert, but the way you stood up to those other guys pushing and shoving you was impressive. Even when you got fouled, you just got right back up. And that free throw was something else."

Toji shifted.

"My cousin always complained about players missing free throws. Like, how hard is it to sink a basket when you're standing still, taking your time, with no opposing team pressure? Easy to judge, I guess. It looks tough. But you nailed it."

"… Is there something you want to say to me?"

Kensuke swallowed. "You used blood skill during that free throw, right? Dr. Akagi told me you can shift your body mass or something. I saw your eyes change color and I sort of assumed…"

Toji went from surprised to wary. "So, what if I did? You going to rat me out?"

He weighed his response. Toji wasn't angry or defensive. He shook his head. "No. I mean, if Soryu can ace art class with her skill, I don't see the harm in you schooling some guys in a practice match."

Toji relaxed without cheer. He looked out over the basketball court. "It's not like I'm using my blood skill to be a star or anything. I want to help the team. We've had a lot of transfers out of the city and we lost some good players. It sucks. If I can help out the guys that are still here…"

"That's nice of you." _I guess._

"Yeah," he said, without meaning it. He glanced around then snorted a humorless laugh. "It sounds really selfish when I say it out loud."

"No," Kensuke said, suddenly desperate to let him off the hook. "Being part of a team means helping out however you can, right? Just like you said."

"Now the new guy is pitying me…"

They were quiet. The court was empty. The sun rested above the horizon in an orange haze.

"How does it work?" Kensuke asked, suddenly curious. "Your blood skill?"

"It's kind of like muscle memory," Toji explained. "I think. I've memorized exactly how to push to get the ball from my hands to the net from that spot on the court. So, yeah, it's sort of cheating, but it's also practice for my blood skill. Something I can do outside WILLE to get better. And that's something I have to do. I have to keep getting better."

He spoke with steady determination. Kensuke smiled.

"You two have certainly become fast friends," Asuka said, approaching the bleachers. She had a leisurely gait, yet remained purposeful. "How cute."

Kensuke bristled at her tone without wanting to. Toji just grinned.

"Yeah," he said back, "we're starting a club. No girls allowed."

"You don't need to form a club to keep the girls away."

"And yet you're coming towards us," Kensuke blurted, destroying the mood.

Asuka's face collapsed but her step never faltered. "This is the quickest route out of school. And away from you."

The fact that they'd see each other tomorrow in class, eventually at WILLE, or that they lived in the same apartment complex all fled from his mind. Her sharp tone told him he crossed some unknown, invisible line and he could only watch in silence as she strode past. He looked over to Toji for apologetic help.

"Hold up," he called to Asuka, and she, amazingly, held up a step. "Check this: Kensuke here can see when we use blood skill."

Her face darted back. "What?"

Toji nodded at Kensuke to let him explain.

"Ah, well, yeah," he fumbled under Asuka's gaze. "I mean, your eyes flash red when it kicks in, I guess? Like this." He flexed his fingers to simulate the speed. "You used it in art class with the paintbrush and—"

"Why didn't you tell anyone earlier?" she demanded.

Kensuke stared at her. He shrugged. She groaned angrily.

"We better tell Dr. Akagi about this," Toji said, getting up from his seat. Asuka already had her phone out, giving WILLE a heads-up of their impending arrival.

Realization dawned. "Oh," Kensuke said. "Not everyone can see it?"

Asuka clutched at her head in frustration.

"You're the first to see any kind of indication of it happening," Toji said. "I'm sure the Doc will be tickled. Get ready for more tests. They call us Children when they really mean guinea pigs."

The trio walked to the city's sprawling central line hub, still flooded with students and an incoming influx of workers. No one gave the Children a second look as they entered together or headed to a small private tram out of the city.

They travelled through a security checkpoint outside WILLE's aboveground front, a nondescript government research facility sitting inside an impressive plot of land surrounded by a high barb wired fence. The actual base extended below the surface for hundreds of meters and housed everything from training areas to labs to barracks to the medical wing Kensuke was already familiar with.

They were underground heading to the base proper when Asuka spoke again. She was alone on the far side of the tram, legs and arms crossed. She observed Kensuke with a dull, there-is-literally-nothing-else-to-look-at-but-you gaze.

"Your tie is crooked."

"Could you fix it for me?" he asked. At his side, Toji tensed up.

"I only know how to tie nooses."

Kensuke chuckled. Until he realized she wasn't joking. Toji was tensed for the rest of the ride.

They arrived at WILLE. Dr. Akagi was there, Kensuke got the feeling she was always there, and he was again subjected to her scientific mercies. He related the afternoon's discovery, earning a brief flicker of genuine surprise. This brought about a brand new series of now old tests, but with a renewed urgency. Whatever sparked the doctor's interest was kept from Kensuke, and as the test series entered hour two he gave up trying to ask.

He was in a medical chair, sitting forward as Dr. Akagi examined his eyes through a variety of lenses connected to a bulky, expensive-looking machine hanging before his face. She would type something at a nearby terminal, the machine would click and whir softly, and she'd peer at the readout.

"Sit up straight," she told him.

He did, sourly noting her posture was lackluster. "So, you sent Soryu and Toji home. Good idea. It must be late and it is a school night…"

"Don't worry," Ritsuko said, still focused on the readout screen, "we're almost done here."

Time passed. Kensuke was already nostalgic for his lonely new apartment. So much for using the stipend Ms. Ibuki mentioned today. He did his best not to think about her thighs. Which led to his best not to think about Soryu's thighs. He needed a distraction.

He cleared his throat to force human interaction from the Doctor. He got the feeling she was resigned to people doing that around her.

"Yes?"

"I was just wondering," Kensuke began. "I mean, it was weird. Soryu can _paint_. Really, really well. Everybody knew it. But she acted like it was torture. Why would she sign up for Art and ace it, then act like she hates it?"

Ritsuko continued her exam without pausing. Her tone was professional casualness. "Asuka attends art classes at school as a part of her training. Knowing how to use a tool and exploiting it are two different things. Learning new ways to utilize said tools, through a variety of methods, can be invaluable."

"She didn't seem too keen on following the assignment in class."

"It's been difficult," she conceded. "But the training program won't be rescinded. Commander's orders."

"But wouldn't it make more sense to use the time in Art here, training with guns?"

Ritsuko smiled, a thin, curving twist of cheerless emotion. "Commander's orders."

/\/\/\/\

It was just shy of midnight when Kensuke stumbled through his apartment door. He entered his bare kitchen, realizing he'd have to stock it himself. Besides a desperate handful of peanuts from an opened vending machine bag in Dr. Akagi's lab he was operating on the echo of his school lunch. He hunched down in front of his tiny fridge, hoping the water bottles would ward off starvation.

There was a note taped on the refrigerator door.

He blearily pinched the edge of the pastel stationary: _Hi, Mr. Aida,_ it read. _I hope you had a great first day at school. I had some free time on my lunch break and decided to drop off everything you need for a nutritious, delicious lunch of your own. Lunch bags and plastic utensils are in the top drawer. Sincerely, Maya Ibuki._

He rifled through his fridge's new contents, past fresh fruit, vegetables and whole wheat bread to something he actually wanted to ingest. Well, it was the thought that counted.

He shut the fridge door and found the note again. Maya's handwriting was like her driving, he thought. Very precise, clean and compact. He stared at the note.

 _How the hell did she get in my apartment?_

Kensuke looked around, suddenly suspicious. Nothing appeared different from the morning; the apartment was still small and clean. No visible cameras or bugs. No bars on the windows. Just a confined space in a complex stocked with WILLE members who apparently had free entry to his home whenever they wished.

A flare of righteous indignation sputtered and died. Why wouldn't WILLE have access to him at all times? He was a valuable commodity. Both Toji and Soryu seemed resigned to that fact. Maybe he should surrender as well. He wondered if Ms. Ibuki's talk that morning was nothing but a scripted attempt to dull his suspicions and make him feel everything was normal.

He was a genetically modified teenager in a covert paramilitary organization battling inhuman, murderous monsters in the shadows of the capital. Everything was not normal.

He was too exhausted to shower and collapsed into bed. He saw his closet, still open from the morning, displaying two more uniforms. The bedroom door was ajar, letting him see down the hallway to the kitchen. The newly filled refrigerator hummed in the dark. Kensuke rolled away from it onto his back and yanked his tie off, flinging it carelessly across the room. He shut his eyes.

"Still awesome," he told himself.

/\/\/\/\

End of chapter 3

Author notes: I don't plan on including any giant flying battleships in this, despite the WILLE moniker.

I'm trying not to overdo Kensuke's perviness. But he had some pervy moments in the series. Endure.

Next chapter: Trial by firing squad.


	4. Visualization

Covenant Red

Chapter 4: Visualization

Disclaimer: I do not own Evangelion.

/\/\/\/\

Final period ended with Kensuke face down on his desk. The past two weeks of daily tests demanded by WILLE, combined with the heavy workload of a prestigious new school caught up with him by the first weekend, and he was running on empty since. He wanted to say his grades suffered for his work, but his academics weren't stellar to begin with and he had no objective way to tell if his job was improving.

Asuka and Toji were present for most of the new tests Ritsuko conducted, activating their blood skill over and over as Kensuke reported the timing and effect. At first, it wasn't so bad. Toji was casually talkative between tests, taking time to fill in blanks regarding the city and school. But genial small talk could only last so long. Ritsuko possessed refined time management sensitivity, meaning she did not get bored doing the same thing for hours on end.

"Orders are orders," Toji had said with a shrug. Kensuke pondered clawing out his own eyes to give the doctor unfettered access.

Although being ordered to stare into Asuka's startlingly elegant eyes helped lessen the desire for mutinous self-mutilation. Even when she was glowering at him. Which was all the time. His efforts to engage her in conversation were met with silence after the first try, which earned him a sour "Shut up, kid."

Dr. Akagi was inscrutable behind a classified wall. Ms. Ibuki was in perpetual motion for her, fulfilling requests or locked behind a terminal. He hadn't seen Commander Katsuragi since his introduction. Kensuke wondered if all women were as gracefully dismissive of him or if it was a WILLE thing.

He was still bent over his desk. He forced his head to stare at Toji, packing up his supplies and preparing to depart. His movements were quick and direct, showing no sign of fatigue.

"I don't know how you do it."

"I've been at this longer than you. You'll get used to it, too."

"Get used to it?" Kensuke repeated. "Oh, God. You're implying it'll be this bad forever?"

"Nah. It could get worse. You might one day look back at how you feel now and long for it."

"You are no friend of mine, sir."

Toji grinned. He was sitting atop his desk, relacing his sneakers. "I know it's been crazy lately, but it's our job. It'll suck sometimes. Definition of a job. What you got to do is work through it to something you look forward to." He jumped off of his desk and began preliminary warm-ups.

"Basketball practice today, huh?" Kensuke asked. A realization struck him. "You've missed a bunch of practices because of me, haven't you?"

He shrugged. "Yeah, but I know where my priorities have to be. WILLE comes first. It always will. 'Til the day I die."

"Doesn't that bug you?"

"Only if I think about it."

 _Aha,_ he thought. Perhaps that was the real key. Just don't think. His frazzled brain accepted and shut down all higher functions not needed to breathe and watch Asuka leave the classroom with a quiet, blistering hot grace.

Toji was jogging in place. He nodded in farewell. "See you."

"Have a good one," Kensuke blindly waved after him as he left.

He collected his supplies and was working on mustering the courageous strength to stand up when Hikari approached his desk from the front of the room. Kensuke shot from his seat but was too late to escape. The class representative closed him down with an earnest smile.

"Mr. Aida," she began.

"Ms. Horaki."

"On your way out? I just wanted to check in with you. How is school going? No offense, but you look exhausted. I know our teachers tend to assign a lot of homework but it's only to reinforce the day's lessons and prepare us for higher education. Do you need any extra help getting adjusted to it?"

"Nope," he lied. "I'm fine. Everything's okay."

"Oh. Good."

"Yeah."

Hikari fidgeted.

"Was there something else?" Kensuke asked, suddenly afraid she'd inquire how the Club hunt was going.

"Um, well…" She cleared her throat. "No, I mean, I just noticed you've been hanging around Suzuhara lately."

"Yeah…" He hesitated. WILLE issued rather clear orders not to talk to non-WILLE members about WILLE activities. Even among WILLE staff, discussion didn't seem to be encouraged.

Hikari preempted any further comments. "Just since, you know, you're the newest transfer and we haven't gotten any transfers for a while and it's nice to see a new transfer getting along so well and…" She shut her mouth to stop rambling.

"Yeah," he said again. "Toji's been a huge help getting acclimated. I guess he took pity on me?"

"Oh, that makes sense," she told him before realizing how rude it sounded. "Uh, no, I mean that he wanted to help you out. He might not seem like it but he can be nice."

"Yeah…" Kensuke stared at her, wondering why she wasn't leaving.

Hikari edged closer to him. "Has Suzuhara, um, mentioned anything to you? About anyone? Like, anyone in this class?"

"… Are you looking to make me a NARC?"

It took a moment for her to comprehend. "Oh!" she exclaimed, adequately startled into embarrassment. "No! No, that wasn't what I was talking about at all."

"I mean, sure, Toji might look like a thug but I've never seen him shake kids down for lunch money."

"Of course he wouldn't do that!"

"Or beat up wimps for fun."

"He's not like that!"

He shrugged. "So then what is this about?" He watched her waver. "I can't help you if I don't know what you want."

Kensuke was not averse to females in roles of authority. Following a clear set of orders beat fumbling in the dark for an impossible answer. Better to know what to do. But when a girl with status refused to exercise that influence it upset the natural balance. Who was he, humble and unassuming as he was, to pick up the pieces?

Hikari realized etiquette demanded she finish what she started. "Well," she began, "since you two are hanging out, I thought he might have confided in you. I sort of thought maybe… Um, do you think Suzuhara likes Asuka?"

" _What?"_

"Not that I'm really checking, but they're absent a lot on the same days. And I don't know about Suzuhara but Asuka's been really busy after school, lately. So, I thought, like, maybe they were going out."

It sounded physically painful for her to say. She was twisting her hands together and scrunching her face.

Even exhausted as he was, Kensuke's first impulse was to laugh in Hikari's face. Soryu existed behind ten million state-of-the-art layers of the highest-grade armor. Cupid's pitiful arrows had no chance of reaching her. Although he saw Hikari's point. Soryu was hot; what boy wouldn't want to go out with her? But that was part of the appeal.

Kensuke suffered under no delusions. With a girl as fine as Soryu, you had to earn attention. She wouldn't be subject to the frail superficial whimsies of a teenage crush. Certainly not with Toji, of all people. But therein laid Kensuke's hope: Through a man's effort he could work his way into her heart. He could prove he was worthy of existence in her eyes. To him, it was simply a matter of waiting for the proper opportunities to present themselves. Time together was a given as they were both Children, although Dr. Akagi's endless tests were not the ideal situations to change Soryu's mind.

But Toji and Asuka? Work associates, certainly, but that was information the public was not privy to. Hikari's leap of judgment was Olympian.

Hoping to defuse the situation and escape, Kensuke opted for a half-lie. "Toji's never really talked about Soryu. I'm sure he would have mentioned dating the most popular girl in school."

"O-Oh, yeah," Hikari replied. She smiled without humor. "She really is popular, huh?"

"Absolutely," he answered, missing the mood. "She's got style and flare, she stands out without trying. She's got this great air of coolness and sophistication alien to her peers."

"You sure nailed it."

From what he observed in class, Hikari was, at the least, involved in a tentative familiarity with Soryu. When the class representative approached and spoke, Asuka did not immediately dismiss or demean her efforts. It must be a girl thing.

He prepared to further articulate his appreciation for Soryu when his cell phone vibrated from his school bag. He ignored it. He ignored the second time, too. It rang, which was odd since he set it to vibrate, so he reluctantly pulled it out.

"Hold on," he told Hikari. He tapped his phone on.

" _Answer the first time, Aida,"_ Aoba nearly yelled at him. _"We have transport waiting for you. Get going."_

Kensuke was unmoved. "Sorry. I'll head in for another round of tests, right away."

" _Not today. A Nephilim has been detected heading towards the city."_

A piercing signal whined to life throughout the school. Hikari was immediately refocused.

"That's the evacuation siren," she explained to Kensuke, who was looking at her in dumb shock. She waited for it to sink in. "Come on! We need to get to a shelter, _now_."

He made no move to follow her, so she grabbed his wrist and yanked him out the classroom. They were the last to leave.

The hallway was a mass of organized chaos. Students and teachers quickly filed out of the school with practiced precision. No one ran in blind panic, no one screamed. Everyone operated under ingrained orders, following unspoken rules. Kensuke let Hikari drag him along, having pointedly ignored all previous evacuation training in school.

" _Head to drop point 3B,"_ Aoba told him.

"Uh, where?"

He sighed over the phone. _"Get to the minimart near the school's south end. We have a car waiting for you."_

Easier said than done. Hikari's death grip on his wrist inspired obedience to her authority. He tried to gently extricate himself. He failed.

" _Aida—"_ Aoba began again.

"I'll be right there," he told him, and thumbed the phone off. "Horaki, wait a sec."

"We really shouldn't." She didn't bother looking back to him as she spoke. "There were no plans to have a drill today. It must be a real attack."

She led them outside the school, moving fast to worm their way into the crowd. He was surrounded on all sides. The underground shelter entrance loomed at the end of a wide walkway.

"Almost there," Hikari murmured. Her voice was tense but controlled. She tugged him onward.

Kensuke could only imagine the amount of hell he would catch from WILLE if he ignored orders and became trapped in a shelter. The dark, deadly serious, beautiful eyes of Commander Katsuragi haunted every step Horaki pulled him. Given the unbending wills of two powerful females, Kensuke naturally obeyed the hotter one.

He put on the brakes, only keeping on his feet thanks to the tight crowd funneling into the shelter. "I have to go to the bathroom," he announced.

Hikari turned on him. "You'll hold it," she ordered. "We need to get inside."

"I can't." Inspiration struck. "I'm going to barf." She reflexively loosened her hold in disgust and Kensuke snatched his hand back. He began moving against the crowd, away from the shelter. "Yeah, uh, today's lunch isn't sitting right. I'm definitely going to hurl chunks everywhere."

The surrounding crowd members did their absolute best to give him access to freedom.

"Aida!" Hikari cried.

The naked look of concern over his safety kept him from simply bolting. He wished he hadn't looked.

"I'll catch up to you," he promised as she was swept along. "I swear."

He lost sight of her struggling against the mob. He turned and ran to the pickup point.

/\/\/\/\

The city was eerily quiet. The evacuation siren cleared the streets with impressive command. Lines of empty cars sat silent, the trains were frozen on their tracks. Empty buildings stood over empty sidewalks. Kensuke looked over the cityscape with a surrealist disconnect. Without the usual droves of humanity clogging the metropolis' arteries the capitol looked artificial and lonely, like an abandoned movie set.

He was aboard a VTOL in a holding pattern with a clear view of the city's west side. WILLE gave him a pair of high-powered binoculars and strict orders to observe the battle. A thin headset connected him to the other Children and headquarters. The comm. line chattered in his ear, alerting him to Toji and Asuka's positions; he was street-level, she was perched atop a sloped bank cradling a sleek rifle.

The gravity of the situation failed to sink in. Soryu looked cool with the gun, Toji was confidently relaxed, and he was riding in a real live VTOL. He tried not to bounce in his seat.

The copilot glanced back as Kensuke continued investigating the vehicle's interior, nothing but a cramped bench bolted to the wall, with childlike wonderment. He used the binoculars to examine the passenger hold.

"This is so cool," he muttered.

The copilot, a beefy man with a dark beard shot him a thumbs up. "Hell yeah, kid."

Kensuke was startled into self-awareness. "Uh, wh-what?"

"It's not every day we get to transport someone with your level of enthusiasm. Hell, any enthusiasm. WILLE ain't known for promoting an appreciation for the mechanically wonderful."

"Oh."

"Eyes on the sky," the pilot ordered. "We got a job to do." Wavy pink hair peeked out from her helmet. "… But yeah, WILLE's repressed technophilia is stunning. Enjoy the ride, Third."

Kensuke turned out the window and focused his binoculars. He discounted the likelihood of WILLE installing any sort of monitoring device in them as he thoroughly acquainted himself with Asuka's form fitting body armor. He wished he could take a picture.

" _Pattern solidified,"_ Hyuga reported from headquarters. _"We have position confirmation."_

The VTOL pivoted and Kensuke watched the Nephilim glide into view along a wide street. Like the last one he saw, it was vaguely humanoid in appearance. Thin legs skated the surface of the road, elongated fingers skimming the asphalt beside them. Its body was watery orange flesh. A single unblinking red eye peered into the sky from a lump of a head.

"So," Toji said over the comm. to Asuka, "do we go with the Fastball Special?" He was behind an empty car, readying his fists, cracking each knuckle individually.

"Do you have to call it that?" she complained.

"Sure, I haven't played baseball since I was a kid, but the name fits. See, me punching the car into the Nephilim is like a pitcher's fastball and—"

"I get the allusion, you clod. I resent you dumbing down the operational parameters with such a simplistic name."

"Yeah, well, when you manage to punch a ton of steel and rubber twenty yards then we'll discuss your personal preferences. Until then," Toji said, drawing his fist back, "the windup. The pitch."

He slugged the car which folded like cardboard as it hurtled along the street to the Nephilim. The rattling impact barely stunned the creature. Asuka opened fire, setting the car ablaze with incendiary rounds before igniting it into a fiery maelstrom.

" _So,"_ Hyuga said in Kensuke's ear, _"what does our eye in the sky see?"_

The smoke and fire dwindled, then parted to reveal the unscathed Nephilim. A shimmering screen unfolded before it, harsh electric orange hexagons vibrating out in waves of energy. He remembered Soryu's reaction to his ability to see blood skill activation. He decided not to take any chances.

"Um," Kensuke began, "everyone else can see the Nephilim's weird force field thing, right?"

There was a pause from Hyuga. _"Come again?"_

Toji and Asuka attempted another car attack. The explosion died and the Nephilim emerged behind the pulsing geometric screen. Kensuke relayed what he saw until Dr. Akagi came on the line sounding less blithely neutral than usual. Almost interested.

" _You can see AT fields,"_ Ritsuko breathed. She collected herself. _"An AT field is a Nephilim's ultimate defense, a projected barrier that can withstand damage. Visual confirmation has never been achieved."_

Kensuke imagined she was already lining up a new battery of tests, sure to shame her previous efforts on his time and sanity. He regretted opening his mouth.

"This isn't working," Toji reported from the street as he scrambled away.

"You think?" Asuka asked. "Fall back. Keep out of range and I'll switch out to piercing rounds."

The Nephilim's AT field collapsed in an instant. Its eye flashed. It raised an arm and a portion of its index finger separated from its hand, shooting through the air towards Toji. He leapt behind a van as the fingertip struck a nearby building corner and detonated with deafening force. Debris and smoke billowed through the street.

Toji hacked and coughed over the comm. channel. "What was that?"

"A blood skill," Kensuke said.

Asuka opened fire to give Toji an escape. Piercing rounds pinged off the AT field. The Nephilim turned its attention on her, and the field collapsed as its eye flashed. It raised a hand.

"Move, Soryu!" Kensuke yelled.

Another finger separated from the Nephilim's hand and sped at Asuka. She slid down the roof with her gun, narrowly avoiding the impact. Pulverized shingles rained over her as she ducked behind a bulge in the roof.

Kensuke breathed again. Ritsuko was in his ear, demanding explanation. Most of the exchange was lost on him under a heavy veil of unfamiliar terms and technicalities. His observations allowed the doctor to theorize the Nephilim could not use its AT field and blood skill together. Its defense was absolute, but was dropped to attack.

" _Hold on,"_ Aoba told Kensuke. _"I'll connect you to the other Children."_

"You mean they couldn't hear me before?"

" _We didn't want you to distract them."_

WILLE lifted his mute and all sides shared information. Asuka's voice eased into a position of authority as they watched the Nephilim progress through the city unimpeded.

"This seems like an obvious decoy strategy." She spoke to Toji: "Second, your ability for occupying space has finally become useful. Get out there and draw its attention. When it attacks I'll blast its lumpy head off."

Kensuke expected him to object or at least complain with the proposed plan. Toji laughed over the comm.

"Years of practice being a seat filler at school won't disappoint you. Just don't screw up the shot."

"As if I'm capable of anything but a bull's-eye."

The Commander offered a perfunctory objection. _"Can you keep yourself alive, Suzuhara?"_

"I'm offended, ma'am. Haven't you seen my speed on the court?"

" _No."_ Misato addressed Kensuke: _"Aida, this plan relies on your eyes to report the switch between the Nephilim's AT field and blood skill. If Soryu and Suzuhara are willing to trust you, I see no reason not to try."_

The other Children remained silent. Kensuke frowned. He would have preferred an open avowal of confidence to the tacit understanding.

" _Don't let us down."_

Toji abandoned his cover and ran alongside the Nephilim. It ignored him until he punched a street lamp onto its head. The AT field snapped shut and its eye flashed as it raised a hand.

"Now!" Kensuke yelled.

Asuka fired. A quick volley of piercing rounds holed the Nephilim skull from behind. The eye burst open and sprayed the street with blood and pulpy brain. It shuddered and collapsed like a bag of wet leaves. The street was silent.

" _No energy detected from target,"_ Aoba reported. _"Pattern erased. Mission complete."_

/\/\/\/\

The VTOL alit and Kensuke hopped out onto a makeshift landing pad surrounded by a temporary WILLE command post. He turned and waved to the pilot and copilot when he cleared the tarmac, before the VTOL roared off into the deepening night sky.

He wandered around the bustling post, looking for a familiar face to offer him orders. From a pair of small tents Toji and Asuka emerged, free of their body armor. Kensuke hurried over to them before she could find an escape route.

"All right!" Kensuke said. He raised a hand for a congratulatory high-five. "Go team!"

Soryu left him hanging, though he did not expect any less. Toji offered an unenthusiastic hand.

"That was awesome," Kensuke went on, paying no heed to the deterrents. "I never dreamed I'd get so close to a VTOL, let alone ride in one. They're crazy loud. And that rifle was sweet. High power with interchangeable magazines, yet portable. And how everyone worked together to beat the Nephilim and being a part of it to help you out…" He stared at the other Children with barely restrained glee. "That was so awesome."

"I guess…"

"So, that's it?" Asuka asked. "That's your blood skill? Seeing stuff?"

"What do you want me to do? Shoot lasers out of my eyes?"

"That would be s _omething_. Yours is lame."

"Now, now," Toji cut in, preempting Kensuke's self-righteous, adrenaline-fueled suicide run. "We got a clear victory because of him 'seeing stuff.' No casualties, limited collateral damage…"

Asuka tossed her hair. "Seeing a weak point takes all the talent out of it."

A WILLE van pulled into camp, ready to transport the Children to the trams for debriefing at HQ. Asuka stepped in first, putting her feet up on the middle seat to deny Kensuke a spot next to her. He and Toji piled into the back. The van rumbled away.

They travelled up a hill with a panoramic view of the day's battlefield, the light damage all but unrecognizable except for the UN cleanup crew scrambled to wipe all evidence from the scene. Kensuke watched a team in hazmat suits collect the Nephilim's dead weight and load the corpse into an odd metal capsule.

"So the UN handles cleanup duty," he remarked. "That's nice of them."

"Screw the UN," Asuka spat at the window.

That wasn't the idle frustration Kensuke was familiar with. Her tone was sharp, filled with venomous spite. He looked to Toji beside him. He wore a sour face tilted away.

Kensuke shrank beneath an unpleasant silence. The van continued onward to WILLE.

/\/\/\/\

Kensuke locked his apartment's front door on his way out and yawned. Despite the battle and the lengthy debriefing the Children were still expected to keep up appearances and attend school the following day. He supposed it was the lesser of two evils. If Dr. Akagi had her way, he'd be locked in her laboratory until doomsday. The mandate to be present for classes at least offered the opportunity for a stealthy nap.

 _Why are we in school, anyway?_ Kensuke thought. If WILLE was really serious, why weren't they all confined to base for nonstop training or at least protection? Surely the organization could afford some tutors for educational purposes. But the way Toji talked, WILLE employment meant a guaranteed place in the workforce, even if the majority of the populace was unaware to their existence. Kensuke imagined as long as he had Nephilim blood, he was set.

It was an enormous weight off his shoulders. School exams no longer mattered beyond avoiding faculty concern. Settling into a C was much easier than chasing after an A. He didn't have anyone to answer to, anyway.

Kensuke reached the ground floor and spotted Toji waiting by a vending machine. They exchanged a wave as he neared.

"Yo," he said, rubbing his eyes.

They started towards school. They reached an unspoken agreement weeks ago to travel together in the mornings. Afternoons were discretionary, dependent on Toji's practice schedule, Kensuke's shopping habits, and WILLE responsibilities. They passed the time with idle talk, discovering shared affinities and a mutual disregard for academic excellence.

Two blocks deep into strategizing their alternating nap schedule for school they met Asuka exiting a convenience store. She frowned as she saw them approach, taking a healthy swig of a densely caffeinated energy drink. It did not appear to work as advertised.

Kensuke perked up. "Good morning," he greeted. Asuka turned towards school without a word.

"Why the long face?" Toji asked her, easily keeping pace with her long stride. "Usually you're so chipper after a successful sortie. Well, more chipper than that."

"My mood is none of your business. And that was hardly a sortie. Carnival games are riskier."

"Yeah, too bad no one was maimed or killed to show off how dangerous the Nephilim was."

"Don't twist my words, you louse. Yesterday was a scrimmage. It barely put up a fight."

"I recall both of us nearly biting the dust…"

Kensuke observed the two other Children and Hikari's suspicions bubbled to the forefront of his mind. Was it so crazy, after all? Granted, tag teaming an inhuman monster in a fight to the death wasn't dinner and a movie, but there was a peculiar peace between the two. Asuka and Toji possessed a comfortable understanding on the battlefield, anticipating each other's actions and working in concert towards a shared goal. Did that compatibility carry over to when guns and blood weren't involved?

From what school gossip he did listen to Toji seemed to be regarded as the jock stereotype, brawn and no brains, and his test scores reinforced it. Not that he was failing; while academics might disparage him they weren't instructed to aid, either. He was coasting through in a comfortable bubble of mediocrity. Physically, he was tall and fit, and Kensuke's teenage heterosexuality allowed him to think Toji was not a human abomination. As far as Kensuke knew, he had no admirers.

Asuka was the ostensible opposite. Her grades were top-tier, she was either admired or the target of viciously bitter jealousy from female classmates. Boys' eyes and conversations followed her every movement, and it was easy to see why.

 _They say opposites attract, right?_ he thought.

"Don't compare me to your clumsy flirting with death," Asuka was saying. "A Nephilim like that would never catch me off-guard."

"That's fine to say after the fact," Toji said, "but I distinctly saw you booking it across that rooftop."

"You just can't leave it alone. No wonder you're single."

They reached the wide staircase on the hill before the school. Kensuke cleared his throat to remind them he existed and they turned to acknowledge him.

"So…" He pointed between the two of them. "You guys aren't going out, then?"

Asuka and Toji turned to each other. Toji laughed.

"Oh my God!" he managed to get out. "Are you _kidding_ me? One of us would be dead within a _week!_ "

"More like an hour," Asuka said.

"Why would you ever think something like that!?"

Kensuke swallowed his embarrassment. "Well, you two get along so well and all—"

Toji was laughing again.

"What you call 'getting along' is professional tolerance," Asuka said. "In case you forgot, we routinely put our lives in each other's hands. A channel of communication with this oaf is necessary. And distasteful. Now get lost. You've ruined enough of my morning."

She made to depart alone, but was stopped when a cry sounded above them at the top of the stairs.

"Aida!"

The trio looked up and saw Hikari Horaki closing them down three steps at a time. She reached them and doubled over, catching her breath.

Kensuke glanced at his companions who offered no help. Asuka observed him with bored bemusement, Toji was absorbed in trying to remember his class representative's name.

"Um, what's up, Horaki?"

"Thank… goodness," she got out, then straightened. Her face was stricken under watery eyes. "Thank goodness you're okay!"

Did Horaki somehow tail him and make his identity? He was prepared to fall on a sword to keep WILLE from disappearing her. Although a slave to the public education machine, she seemed nice enough.

"W-What are you talking about?" he tried casually.

"After we got separated I couldn't find you in the shelter, or in any of the surrounding shelters after the evacuation ended. No one answered your cell..."

 _Oh, yeah,_ he thought. It all came back to him. The pantomime retching, ditching her in the evacuation line, and her concern for his life. The post-victory high he was riding dipped to the side to deposit him back on earth. He suddenly felt like a cad.

"Hey, hey," Kensuke tried to soothe. Hikari was fighting back tears. "I'm fine, see? I, uh, I got into a different shelter. I mean, I'm here, right?"

"But none of the monitors had any record of you. Nobody else saw you. I checked. I thought… something might have—"

"You irresponsible brat!" Asuka shot at him. "How could you make Hikari worry like that?"

That seemed to dry her tears, as concern was shunted in favor of anger. It was now not only okay to display irritation for Kensuke's selfish actions, it was required. Asuka made it so simply by speaking.

"Not cool," Toji agreed sagely.

"Apologize!" Asuka demanded.

Beaten and alone in the world, he begged forgiveness from an almost equally bewildered Hikari. She accepted and the two girls abruptly left, at Asuka's insistence. Kensuke watched them go.

He turned on Toji. "What the hell? I need backup and you turn traitor?"

"If it was enough to spur concern from Soryu it was enough to sacrifice you for the greater good. I'm sorry, but I know when to retreat in the face of an unbeatable enemy." He shrugged at Kensuke's scowl. "And it certainly stopped the class rep from asking more questions."

He paused. WILLE's apparent oversight in data manipulation regarding his whereabouts during the battle might indeed topple the whole house of cards. One girl starts asking questions she shouldn't and suddenly the public knows about Nephilim, WILLE and its squad of child soldiers. Kensuke again felt the Commander's disapproving eyes plotting his demise.

Soryu saw that danger and snuffed it out. The calculation necessary, not just about the potential risks, but how to counter them with that particular person in a way to silence any dissention, all within the realm of public decorum the class rep was subservient to, was staggering. And Soryu did it in an instant, without hesitation or doubt. Or asking for thanks.

Kensuke began walking towards school again. He shook his head.

 _Damn,_ he thought. _She is so cool._

/\/\/\/\

End of chapter 4

Author notes: Sahaquiel squandered all its potential for the sake of my abysmal action writing skill. Thanks, Sahaquiel.

Next chapter: My deviant shipping nature takes an even darker turn.


	5. Steel

Covenant Red

Chapter 5: Steel

Disclaimer: I do not own Evangelion.

/\/\/\/\

He missed.

"You suck at this," she said.

He missed again.

"You really suck at this."

He missed again.

"You really, _really_ suck at—"

"I know I suck at this!" Kensuke snapped.

Asuka eyed him stoically. "And this is how you act after you begged me to train you."

"You were assigned to train me!"

"You were so happy, I assumed you whined for it until Katsuragi capitulated."

They were in one of WILLE's massive training rooms, featuring an enclosed firing range for long-range weaponry. The space was cleared for live ammunition use, only Asuka and Kensuke in a booth across from a series of targets. They both wore noise-cancelling headphones with a shared communications channel.

Kensuke was prone on the ground, tenderly cradling the heft of a sniper rifle. He was clad in his newly issued WILLE combat suit, dark like the other Children's but with subdued orange piping. He was surprised to find it comfortable and fluid, moving with him rather than against. The sense of cool he felt after posing before the locker room mirror evaporated under Asuka's half-second inspection and subsequent snort of dismissal.

His relationship with Instructor Soryu did not deviate from past interactions, save that her sense of superiority now had a clearly definable source. He anticipated a firm, guiding hand driving him to success. He received several punches in the ego.

Kensuke forced an annoyed breath past his lips. "It was a direct order from our Commander, so you could at least try to follow it."

"I would if I had anything to work with," Asuka stated. "Any fool can pass the sim tests. WILLE's standards keep getting lowered."

The past few weeks were a blur of escalating VR simulation drills, culminating in his "graduation" to real weapons and live ammo. After the initial tinge of fearful excitement at handling actual arms, bored repetition firmly set in, followed by crushing humiliation as he took to the target gallery.

He knew surpassing Soryu was impossible thanks to her blood skill, but his VR scores were passable and he figured determination would cover the rest to make a decent impression on her.

He missed once again. She issued a thoroughly bored sound.

"You're the one with pinpoint eyesight, right?"

"Just because I can see the target doesn't mean it's easy to hit it!" He peered back through the scope, carefully shifting the weight of the rifle fractions of fractions. He breathed, aimed, and fired. The bullet pinged off the edge of the target. "Ha! Got it!"

"You missed the kill zone," Asuka reported dully. "Meaning you failed to eliminate the threat and gave away your position to boot. Congratulations."

"Damn it, I am trying, you know…"

"What are you going to do now? Pout? Go cry in the corner, you big baby."

"I don't cry," Kensuke said. "I'm a man."

Asuka snorted. "You're a kid."

"I'm a _man_."

"Then you're a _caveman_. Maybe I should get you a big club to clobber the targets with. But knowing you, you'd still miss at point blank range."

"Well I can't imagine you're any worse at giving instructions for clubs than you are for guns!"

Kensuke's unique and valuable ability to detect the enemy's weak point, combined with his utter lack of military training, consigned him to the periphery of the battlefield. Not that he was complaining. He still suffered nightmares about the acidic Nephilim that destroyed his old home.

But he remained a member of the team and looked forward to proving his mettle in combat. From far, far away, behind the relative safety of a sniper scope with a VTOL hovering nearby for a speedy withdrawal. Despite all that he did want to show he wasn't a waste of humanity and a complete drag on WILLE. Freak Accident seemed to be his nickname around base, or at least that was what Asuka liked to tell him. Accidental or not, he was a Child, like she was. There was no reason he couldn't succeed as well.

A fresh target rose before his sights across the firing range. He settled back into prone position, ran through a final check for the gun and loaded. He peered through the scope.

Kensuke felt a stubborn weight get comfortable on his head. He tried to swallow his anger. He really did. Asuka's heel continued to push against his scalp with an unwavering, placid pressure. Kensuke threw his hands from the rifle.

"That's it!"

He sprang up and waved his arms. Asuka calmly retracted her leg and eyed him.

"What's the matter?" she asked. "I was correcting your posture."

"With your _foot?_ "

"I'll get a stick."

"You can get a new attitude!" It sounded a lot cooler in his head. Over the comm. channel it came out crackly and petulant. But he was committed now. "I won't work like this. I'm done for the day."

"But there's still so much wall for you to pepper with bullets."

Kensuke was halfway to the secure checkpoint on his way to the locker room. "Then report me! I don't care!" He switched off the headset, determined to have the last word.

He shed his armor. He crept to the tram exit. None of the other WILLE personnel he saw stopped him. He pushed away the guilt coiling around him. Sure, he was the rookie. Sure, he had a lot to learn. Sure, he should respect seniority. And sure, storming out of the lesson would not solve any problems he was upset about. But it felt good to blame someone else for his disappointing showing.

Cutting one day short would not end the world. He sat alone in the tram, determined to ignore the repercussions of his actions, as the steady clatter of tracks and winking lights of the underground tunnel relaxed him into a sour stew of self-righteous indignation. His scowl melted to a frown, his crossed arms slid to his sides. He wished he hadn't told Soryu to report him.

/\/\/\/\

The tram jolted to a halt. Kensuke hauled himself from the window and departed into the city's main hub. The shifting mass of human traffic spread before him on multiple levels of coordinated, single-minded activity.

This did not seem like a city under siege. Aside from scanners in government buildings and train stations there was no visible military presence to defend the public's peace of mind. WILLE appeared to handle things completely in the shadows, using a separate PR board to coordinate with the local authorities to establish evacuation shelters and curfews, along with reconstruction efforts.

Toji and Asuka seemed content with playing hero without any public recognition. Kensuke was slowly resigning himself to the same. He didn't imagine parades or talk show notoriety but a thank you would be nice.

What was left of his WILLE stipend would have to do. He set out determined to spend his worries away. The capital's shopping district was mostly confined to a sprawling area to the south of the main train terminal. It was a gratefully short trip from the base's private tram to a myriad distracting storefronts promising conspicuous consumption as a panacea.

Kensuke was tired, but still adequately offended to skip collapsing straight into bed. He needed to release some angry tension in a socially acceptable way. And he found himself desiring some real world human interaction after extended stays in WILLE's underground tomb. Even if that interaction was as an anonymous face in a sea of anonymous shoppers.

The month was almost over, and his WILLE stipend was dwindling. He passed by electronic stores and movie theaters, instead settling on the cheap comforting confines of a video arcade to drown his frustrations in. He walked by a bank of sim gun cabinets without a second glance. He longed for a time when target practice was simple, fun, and confined to the video game spectrum. It was a private, devastating disappointment to discover his FPS twitch skills were of no practical use with real guns.

He rubbed his sore arms. And real guns were so _heavy_. And _precise_. Completely user-unfriendly. Just like his instructor. Why couldn't Soryu just be hot and awesome? Why did she have to be so negative and condescending? Why was she determined to belittle his every effort? Why did his efforts have to fail?

Why was he still thinking about it? Kensuke refocused on the here and now, getting reacquainted with the arcade's sticky floors and tacky decor. It became a welcoming friend as he learned to manage his stipend between necessities including food, clothing and games.

He wanted to hunch over a quiet, dark cabinet and play until he forgot what he was so upset about. Kensuke was three stages into a 2-D tournament fighter when a shadow fell over his shoulder. He shifted to allow more light, and the shadow moved to block it. The shadow cleared its throat. The shadow tapped his arm.

He sighed, letting the match end in his defeat. "There are free machines over there," he said, gesturing vaguely on his way to insert another token.

"I know." A hand stopped him from restarting the game. "I need you for a minute."

Kensuke finally turned. The girl was older, judging by her height and demeanor. She carried herself with a casual confidence, owning her jeans, camouflage tee and aviator sunglasses without obnoxiously demanding attention. She smiled at him.

"Huh?" he responded.

"I need you. So let's go."

She dragged him away with a surprising strength towards a bulky full immersion system. Kensuke knew the game, and the price.

"I'm not spending six tokens on a single game," he complained.

The girl opened her purse. It was filled to the zipper with tokens. "I've got it covered."

They arrived at the 2v2 game deck featuring enclosed seats fashioned like mecha cockpits. Its undeniable coolness was offset by its expense and the open humiliation of trying to crest the steep learning curve in public. When two teams did accept the challenge it became an event, drawing other patrons to observe via a large screen on the wall. Already people were gathered around, issuing catcalls as Kensuke was lugged forward by the girl.

Two boys broke from the crowd. They possessed the smarmy teenage confidence of sharks circling a doomed weight loss cruise.

"This is your ace in the hole?" one asked, pointing at Kensuke. "And here I was actually worried."

"No backing out when you lose," the other said. "We have a room full of witnesses."

The girl did not respond to her opponents, instead shoving Kensuke into the red team second seat before sliding into the one beside him. He opened his mouth to complain and she fixed him with a steely gaze.

Virtuous offense tumbled out of him anyway. "This is what you needed me for? Some virtual spitting contest?"

With one hand the girl held Kensuke in place by the arm, with the other she inserted the necessary tokens to start the game.

"I sort of made a bet with those guys," she explained. The game select screen appeared. She chose the sniper mech load out for Kensuke. She picked a close combat model for herself. "One game, winner take all. If I win, their cash is mine. If I lose, I go out with them."

The loading screen began counting down from twenty.

"What were you thinking?" Kensuke demanded as the first tremors of panic shivered his hands.

"I had no choice! They would not stop flirting with me." She sounded like beauty was an insufferable burden around her long, elegant neck. "There I was, minding my own business at the UFO catcher, when Tweedle-dee and Tweedle-dumbass over there start in with 'baby' this and 'honey' that and—"

Loading finished.

"Why choose _this_ game?"

The girl's demeanor shifted from cute teen to soldier of fortune.

"Because I cannot lose."

The urban combat landscape rezzed to life. The girl's hands deftly worked the control levers.

"I'm going in," she said.

 _Damn it all._ Kensuke tried to remember how to play. It was months since he mustered enough courage and money to sit in the cockpit. He fumbled with the various pedals, sticks and buttons, letting his innate intuitiveness work through the bout of shock at the surprise drafting.

He glanced beside him. The girl was fast and knew the terrain, zipping from hidden ammo caches to hiding spots before Kensuke remembered how to walk.

"Pick a vantage point with cover," the girl advised casually. "A high spot with at least two escape routes. Remember to litter some mines to cover your rear."

"Oh, right."

An attractive girl was issuing orders rather than insults. All felt right with the world.

The opposing blue team was focused on the girl entirely, sticking together to make methodical sweeps of the streets and avoid ambush. It didn't matter. The girl surprised them with a series of lightning quick strikes followed by even faster retreats. She poked Kensuke in the arm after the third one.

"You're in position, right?" she asked. "Hit them when I force them into the open."

Indeed, her attacks were timed to push them from cover, based on his location atop a hill outside the city. The kind of situational awareness that spoke of, even on a virtual battlefield, was professional.

"Learn the enemy movement and use the terrain options against them," she told him. "Force them into your sights. Pick your shot. Aim to kill."

Kensuke found the enemies in his scope. He learned the rhythm of the girl's attacks, synching it with his breath. His enemies became predictable, helpless targets.

He fired. The shot lanced the torso of a blue team member, and the girl quickly mopped up his meager remaining life points.

"Nice!" she congratulated him as their victim exploded in a digital fireball.

Kensuke relaxed into a warm confidence. At least he could still snipe in a video game.

The surviving blue enemy fired randomly in panicked fury. The girl swept behind him and depleted his health bar with a shotgun to the back of the head. The match was over.

The crowd howled at the upset, then broke into derisive cheers as the boys emptied their wallets into the girl's waiting hands, leaning out of the cockpit.

"I had a great time, too!" she called after them.

Kensuke stayed in his seat as the mob dispersed, watching the girl swiftly count, sort and stow her winnings. Despite the calm, practiced dexterity of her hands her mouth was twisted into a manic grin of unbridled avarice. He held a sudden insight to try and stay on her good side.

The money disappeared into her purse and she sighed pleasantly, before remembering she wasn't alone in the dual cockpit. She took her sunglasses off. Bright green eyes sparkled at him.

"Thanks for the backup. You're pretty good, kid."

He liked the way she said that word. It wasn't the debilitating putdown Asuka threw at him.

"Thanks," he responded. "I've gotten a lot of practice lately."

"You sound miserable about that. Don't despair. Snipers are an underrated lot. You need patience, precision, concentration and a dash of luck." She sent him a wink. "All good things for a guy to have."

It flew over his head. "I guess."

"I'm sorry," she said. "I never introduced myself. I'm Mana Kirishima. Pleased to meet you, my dear lifesaving sniper."

"I'm Kensuke Aida. Glad I could help you out." He cleared his throat as he nodded towards her bulging purse. "So, do I get a cut, teammate?"

"Nope." Mana gracefully slid out of the cockpit seat and stretched. "But let's get a soda. You've earned that, at least."

She led him to a bistro outside the arcade in an open courtyard. They sat at a small table beneath the clear blue sky. The girl drained a quarter of her ice cream float in seconds. Kensuke did his absolute best to ignore the bead of liquid on her smiling lips, and the quick pink flash of tongue as she licked it away.

"So," he tried, "do you go to school outside the city? I've never seen you around here before."

"Mmm hmm," she hummed while nodding. "Good, good. Starting out casual. Nothing too personal, along with the implication you'd remember me. I've underestimated you."

"Huh?"

"Actually, I'm a working girl," Mana lamented. "Fresh out of high school. University was outside my pay range so I joined the distinguished ranks of the wage slave."

"I don't think there's anything wrong with that. Um, having a job is better than not, right?"

"That's one way to look at it. I'm always interested in how other people see things." She stared at him with a relaxed eagerness, shutting out the rest of the world. "So. How do those speckled eyes see things?"

"Pretty well."

"Mmm. We'll see." She stirred her drink. "You mentioned you had a lot of practice at sniping lately? You didn't sound too enthused."

"Yeah. I'm new to town and my team, er, the people I play with now already have defined roles. I'm sort of confined to long distance support." Kensuke smiled to himself. "It's fine. I mean, one of them is definitely suited for close-combat, and the other can do anything she wants, so it makes sense I am where I am."

Mana finished her float. "Don't give up hope," she told him. "You may be a rookie among vets, but you said it yourself: you're part of a team. Each player needs to learn to work together to function efficiently and effectively. Keep practicing and you'll get better. I'm sure they'll recognize you.

"I meant what I said earlier," she went on. "Snipers are underrated but can be an essential force on the battlefield. Just like in our game. Remember your worth, and your power."

"Um… Thanks?"

"Sure thing." She glanced at her wrist and stood. "Ah, look at the time. My boss is pretty relaxed about schedules but I'm still technically the new girl, you know?" Mana let him have one last smile as she turned. "Be seeing you, Mr. Sniper."

Kensuke stayed in his seat and watched her go. He wondered if he should have asked for her phone number.

"Ahem."

He looked up. One of the bistro's waiters appeared at his side, graciously holding out a hand with a bill. It took a moment for the situation to sink in. He fished out his skeletal wallet.

 _Damn,_ he thought. _That was pretty cool._

/\/\/\/\

Even with the noise cancelling headphones each shot was a startling sharpness. The recoil shivered through him, forcing him to realign his sights after every round. The reorientation became part of the routine. Even Instructor Soryu's heckling was absorbed into making the next shot count. Every round was a fresh chance at improvement.

It felt like grinding for XP in an RPG. A repetitive but necessary road towards empowerment. The past week's road was smoother than previous paths, travelling at a measured, stable pace. Slow and steady won the race, he told himself over Asuka's repeated complaints. If he kept pushing ahead eventually it would work out favorably.

He emptied the magazine and held a blind hand out for another.

"Next," he requested.

Asuka dropped another to him. "Where is this sudden fount of confident dedication springing from? Your scores do not justify it."

He reloaded. "I'm in a high-tech underground fortress training with real weapons. Why wouldn't I be in a good mood? My scores will catch up eventually."

"I never taught you to believe such groundless optimism. That kind of attitude will get somebody killed. What you need is hard work. A lot of it. Then maybe we'll find a use for you."

"Snipers are an underrated lot," Kensuke recalled. "We need patience, precision, concentration and a dash of luck."

"Or just a powerful voyeuristic streak," Asuka said. "That seems right up your alley."

After spending extended periods of time with Asuka, he began to sense her sharp tongue was often employed not out of genuine spite but of a world-weary exhaustion, a tired reflex against a less than perfect reality that failed to meet her high standards.

His previous irritation with her was all but forgotten. Although she seemed incapable of doing the same.

" _I'm training you to be a sniper,"_ she complained when they met after his blow-up. _"Not a whiny little bitch."_

At least she finally stopped calling him Ms. Aida.

But even that was okay, in a way. He remembered how cool she was, and how uncool the world was. If he could, somehow, attain a glimmer of success in her eyes, then maybe reality would be slightly less harsh for her.

"Hey," he said. "Some encouragement, or at least acknowledgment of my improvement, wouldn't kill you, you know."

"I'm not willing to risk it."

The training session continued. Kensuke worked with blithe good cheer, battering his frustrations down beneath a patient determination to improve and impress. Kirishima's gentle advice and encouragement bolstered his efforts.

The day ended with a score skating the average line. He was filled with buoyant joy. Asuka reacted like he spat in her coffee.

"I can't believe I'm wasting my time with this nonsense."

"Don't think of it as a waste," he said as he stood and stretched. "My scores keep ticking upward and I'm more comfortable with the weapon. Uh, and of course you've been a huge help. Thanks."

She rolled her eyes in dismissal. "I don't need gratitude for babysitting while you play a game."

Kensuke gestured to the very real rifle at his feet. "Doesn't look like a game to me."

"Target practice is playing pretend in a vacuum," she said, walking away. "Until you can eliminate a real enemy in actual combat all the training in the world won't matter."

"Then how am I supposed to prove to you I've gotten better?"

"I'm sure there will be plenty of opportunities for you to fail at that." Asuka kept walking. "It's late. We'll pick up again on Tuesday."

"Why not tomorrow?"

His WILLE practice schedule was uniformly brutal, stealing any daylight hours not already consigned to school in the effort to get him up to speed. Soryu would never give him the green light personally, so his field readiness was determined by a series of benchmarks set by the Commander. As it stood, he still had weeks of training until he was cleared for battle. Kensuke's renewed hope reminded him every day mattered.

"One day won't matter," Asuka told him through a yawn. "It's some dumb national holiday, so we don't have school, either."

"Commander Katsuragi won't like that."

"She left this to my discretion. Stop arguing."

 _Soryu must truly be tired,_ Kensuke thought. _She stopped insulting me._

She opted for escape instead and he watched her exit the training room. It was indeed late, and while he preferred to spend as much time with her as possible to gain chances to impress, he had to admit he was weary as well.

 _Tuesday, then,_ he promised, and ran after her to change. If he hurried, maybe he'd catch the tram back to the city with her.

/\/\/\/\

Toji didn't answer his cell on the day off. That killed Kensuke's hopes of catching a movie or hanging out to play some video games. Toji never invited him to his own apartment, remaining tight-lipped regarding family life. Kensuke didn't even know if he had parents or siblings.

The idea of sitting alone all day struck him sour, so he rolled out of bed around eleven and headed downtown for lunch. He wandered the crowded shopping and entertainment districts afterwards, hoping something would catch his eyes.

Eventually he found himself back at one of the arcades dotting the area and decided to waste some time and money inside. He shook his head as he passed a row of gun cabinets, disappointed with the players' postures and liberal expenditure of ammo. Then again, it was only a game, and they didn't have redheaded instructors in their ears detailing their failures. Soryu favored a tough love approach of "don't show, don't tell," letting him figure out what worked and what didn't. It didn't strike him as the most efficient teaching method but it did inspire him to improve. His incremental progress was made that much sweeter.

Kensuke stopped short. He spied Mana with a boy as they finished a head-to-head rhythm dance game. Her near perfect score easily topped his. She held out a patient hand and collected her reward from the devastated boy's wallet. He slumped further as she turned to leave with a glowing smile and a wink.

"Oh!" Mana startled, seeing Kensuke. She headed over, stealthily pocketing her newfound wealth. "My chivalrous Mr. Sniper. Fancy meeting you here."

He crossed his arms as he peered at her. "Yeah. Fancy that. Having a good time?"

"I can't complain. That's a lie. I really could. I mean, I can't go five minutes without some guy hitting on me. Arcades should be romance-free zones. I'm here to train, not to be wooed." She tossed her short hair.

Kensuke frowned. "I suddenly get the feeling you used me."

"Whatever do you mean?"

"It wouldn't have mattered who you got to play with you the other day. I was just along for the ride. You hustled those guys."

"Hustled?" Mana repeated. "I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about."

"A pretty girl picks a fight with a pair of idiots, feigning ignorance about games, draws a crowd, then trounces said idiots to make a quick fistful of yen. With so many witnesses, they can't back out or give you trouble. You are an arcade hustler."

"You think I'm pretty?" she asked, posing cutely with practiced embarrassment. "Oh, _stop_. You'll make me blush."

Kensuke was unmoved. "There's no off button, is there?"

Mana shrugged. "Those guys had it coming. Like I told you, I was minding my own business but boys see a hot chick and the blood stops flowing to their brains. It was a lesson to make them, if not think with their brains, then at least think with their wallets."

"It seems you _only_ think with your wallet."

"I can't help that," she said. "I have to survive. The government doesn't give me any real spending money. They'll buy a fleet of shiny new VTOLs at the drop of a hat but ask them for a slight standard of living increase and they moan about budget shortfalls."

Kensuke stared at her. "Government?"

"Yeah," Mana said breezily as she crossed her hands behind her head. "I work for the defense ministry. I'm an assistant to the UN liaison." She watched him. "Something the matter?"

"Uh, no. No." He knew he was sweating. "Just, ah, you seem kind of, um, young for a position like that."

"I didn't sleep my way in, if that's what you're implying."

"No! Of course not—"

"Although now that you mention it, maybe there was a sexual warfare angle. But, you know, it is nothing like the movies, with femme fatales seducing secrets from foreign officials."

"I was not thinking that at all!"

He was thinking more about WILLE's tenuous relationship with the UN, and the overt hostility displayed by Soryu and the Commander. He doubted either would approve of him fraternizing with Kirishima.

"It's actually rather dull most of the time," she went on. "Paperwork, staff meetings, debriefing after debriefing and more paperwork. But that's the real world sometimes. Truth can be boring.

"This," she indicated with a flip of her hand, pooling together the arcade, players and her honey pot scheme, "isn't real. It's fun and games. When you're in the real world, truth is all that matters. People deserve to know the truth. You deserve to know the truth."

"Wh-What are you talking about?"

"I don't want you feeling like I lied to you or anything. You should know who I am. You should know the people around you." Mana smiled. "You're cute. But you're also a national security risk. WILLE, or whatever they're calling themselves these days, doesn't put stock in truth."

Kensuke went cold.

"Ever wonder why the public can't know about them?" she asked.

"They said it was to avoid panic," he mumbled. The cat was out of the bag now, no use in trying to play dumb. There was a stubborn desire to defend WILLE, too. He figured he owed them something.

"That's just how they keep control. Information is power. The fewer people who have it, the more powerful they are. How about why only kids can be given Nephilim blood without going nuts or dying? Or where the Nephilim come from?"

Kensuke twisted his mouth shut. Admittedly, WILLE told him "it's classified" to the majority of his questions. He figured they probably had a decent reason, even if it was unfair. But he was an outsider stumbling into the middle of a war. Like with Soryu, he had to earn trust.

"Who cares?" he finally said. "Yeah, there's stuff I don't know, but monsters are attacking us, and WILLE's fighting them. Why wouldn't I help out if I can?" He hoped that sounded manly enough.

Mana just sighed. "It's sad to see their indoctrination firsthand. Your head is buried in the sand." She looked at him with a sudden fondness he wasn't prepared for. "You can't keep it there forever. You'll see the world for yourself one day."

"I—"

His phone vibrated twice, his new customized alert from HQ. Without thinking he pulled it out.

"Yeah?" he asked, still peering at Mana.

" _A Nephilim has been detected outside the city,"_ Aoba told him. _"Get to drop point, er, get to the southern train station. We have transport waiting."_

Kensuke put the phone away. "I'm sorry," he said, "I have to go. Uh, family emergency."

"I hope everything is okay…"

The evacuation siren sounded. The crowded shopping district around them instantly reorganized and began flooding towards the downtown shelters. Mana stayed where she was as Kensuke began edging away from the crowd. She wore a strange face of regret.

"Be careful out there, Mr. Sniper."

/\/\/\/\

Two-story high, pointed legs held a suspended black orb, cracking the asphalt underneath with every step. The Nephilim made its way into the evacuated city without urgency.

 _I thought they were supposed to look human,_ Kensuke thought. Inhuman things with human form was how the Commander first described them. This was an abstract monstrosity.

"I don't see any eyes," he said from his station in a VTOL, peering through his binoculars. "I won't be able to tell when it uses blood skill."

" _What about its AT field?"_ Ritsuko asked.

"I don't see that either."

"Then let's finish this," Asuka said. "It ruined my day off."

She selected a WILLE-modified assault rifle from a collection of waiting arms, allowed her blood skill to activate, then spun out from behind a delivery truck. She and Toji stalked forward, car to car, from opposite sides of the eight-lane wide street. The Nephilim showed no sign of hostility as it calmly strode towards them.

"What do we go with this time?" Toji asked over the comm. "I don't think I can hit a car that high."

"This one's mine," Asuka said.

She stepped away from cover and opened fire. Her volley struck the black orb and it burst open, splattering viscous ink across the street. The legs stopped moving. The Nephilim stood still, dripping black between its feet.

"Did I get it?"

Tendrilling fingers sprouted from the ink stain, curling together to form spears that bent and raced towards Asuka's position. She reflexively held the rifle up to block as she tried to roll away. The spears tore through the weapon and sped past Asuka, slicing open her left arm.

"Soryu!"

The spears swept towards her, collecting and hurling her body across the street. She impacted the side of a parked sedan, shattering the windows and making the car jump on two wheels. Asuka collapsed to the ground in a heap.

"Son of a bitch," Toji snarled, running forward and activating his blood skill.

The spears dissolved and new ones formed from the remaining Nephilim blood pool. They converged on Toji's position too fast for him to evade. He brought his arms up to block, shifting his ability to absorb the blow between his wrists and elbows.

He offered only an angry grunt as he was propelled backwards into the spacious front windows of a bank, tumbling though glass and several office cubicles before coming to a stop. The spears dissolved. The Nephilim began walking again.

Kensuke watched the battle in horror.

" _Aida,"_ Misato told him, _"I'm authorizing you to sortie. Help Suzuhara."_

"B-But I don't have a rifle or—"

"We got one onboard for you," the copilot called back from the cockpit. "Just in case."

The VTOL raced over the city skyline, finding a tall hotel. It hovered over the rooftop and opened its passenger doors. A blast of wind slammed Kensuke against his seat.

"Your stop, Third," the copilot said. "Don't worry; we'll be ready to pick you back up if things get dicey."

"Oh. Right."

In a numb haze, Kensuke managed his buckles open and edged to the door. It was a six-foot drop from the vehicle's open bay to the hotel rooftop. He slid out feet-first, lowering himself to his chin. The copilot gave him a thumbs-up.

"Good luck, Third."

Kensuke fell on his side. He didn't feel the impact. The VTOL pivoted left, and detached a metal crate from its undercarriage. It clattered beside him, then opened to reveal a sniper rifle and a box of ammunition. The VTOL roared away.

 _Okay,_ Kensuke thought. _I can do this._

He crawled to the rifle. He pushed the support struts to the edge of the building. He loaded it. He peeked over and nearly vomited.

He was sweating, he was shaking. His breath came in manic gasps. He bit his bottom lip to keep his teeth from chattering. This was not the same atmosphere of ego deflating tedium present on the practice range.

In his ear was a blaring cacophony of voices; reports of the Nephilim's distance from HQ, Toji declaring he was okay, a WILLE evac team hurrying Asuka back to base for medical treatment, initial reports of her being unconscious but alive, and movements of a UN tank battery and fighters circling the city.

 _I can do this,_ he told himself again.

He swung his scope wide trying to find the enemy.

" _Try to calm down,"_ Hyuga spoke to him. He sounded unruffled but the urgency in his voice was unmistakable. _"But, uh, try to do that soon. If the UN gets involved we'll have to have you and Suzuhara fall back to base for a final defense. You need to stop it here."_

Kensuke could only nod, unable to speak. He tried to focus on fending off hyperventilation.

Where were the Nephilim coming from and why did they want to get to WILLE? Why was WILLE hiding underground to begin with? What would happen if he failed here and HQ was invaded?

He pushed it from his mind. He had his orders. He'd figure out everything afterwards.

The scope found his target, approaching along a main traffic artery. He waited for a strategic bottleneck, the street narrowing to four lanes, each leg of the Nephilim brushing a building. The black orb was together again, albeit slightly smaller in diameter. The Nephilim's image jumped and shivered in his scope. He fired.

He missed.

" _Shit,"_ Kensuke breathed.

The Nephilim stopped. From the wound Asuka inflicted more spears appeared and shot towards him, tearing through the air.

"Oh, shit, oh, shit—"

Toji punched the Nephilim's right leg, sending it off balance. The spears splayed in various directions, shredding buildings as it stabilized itself.

"Keep firing!" Toji yelled over the comm. He fell back, hobbling into cover. The armor on his arms was torn open, blood pouring out.

Kensuke forced his hands to realign the rifle, locating the target. He fired. He struck the black orb, sending inky blood across a nearby building façade. More spears jumped from the wound.

" _Air support!"_ Misato ordered.

Two VTOLs swarmed the Nephilim, peppering it with machine gun fire and small rockets. More blood splashed from the orb producing more spears. One of the VTOLs was clipped and spiraled to the street below.

Kensuke wiped the sweat from his eyes. He fired again, scoring a hit. The orb was stretched thin between the legs now, bled of cover to reveal a lidless eye glowing red. The air was thick with spears, speeding towards the hotel rooftop. Kensuke lined up the shot.

The round gouged a hunk of pulp from the eye's rim. An inhuman scream echoed through the empty city. The rigid spears turned limp before bursting into soupy blood. The legs buckled and the Nephilim tumbled to the street.

" _Pattern erased,"_ Aoba reported, sounding winded. _"Target eliminated."_

Kensuke collapsed in a cold sweaty pile beside the rifle. He weakly rolled onto his back, staring up into the advancing night sky. Vaguely, he heard a VTOL approaching his position.

He groaned. He hoped his armor covered up the smell of urine.

/\/\/\/\

End of chapter 5

Author notes: Could Kensuke land a cutie-pie like Mana? Jean landed Nadia, so… so Kensuke could land Shinji. Hahaha.

Next chapter: My dinner with Asuka.


	6. Collation

Covenant Red

Chapter 6: Collation

Disclaimer: I do not own Evangelion.

/\/\/\/\

The WILLE men's locker room was five lengthy rows spanning dozens of individual spaces, along with showers to accommodate a professional sports team. Kensuke chose a locker facing Toji's, meaning they changed back-to-back. After tests became a relaxed time to talk, make plans or rate the women of WILLE. As yet, no one could dethrone the Commander's number one position on the countdown for Toji and Kensuke played along, keeping his opinion of Soryu's unquestionable dominance to himself.

Tests ended for the day. A half week passed since the battle. Since then the boys made daily trips to HQ for debriefings and exams. For Kensuke it was more of the same, getting reacquainted with Dr. Akagi's lab and bedside manner. Toji received a dozen stitches on either forearm, along with treatment for a collection of smaller injuries, and was confined to base for a night under observation for something called "retrograde contamination" due to direct contact with a Nephilim.

Despite all that he was in good spirits, suffering through each medical exam with an unerring patience. He accepted his release without animation. Kensuke admired that focused loyalty to WILLE and hoped some of it would rub off on him. The encounter with Mana was a fading sour memory. He remained in the dark, but everyone was alive. Things were returning to his new normal.

He finished buttoning up his shirt, idly listening as Toji did the same behind him. He showed no sign of injury, but the image of his bloody arms loomed over Kensuke. Now that they were alone he could determine how bad the damage really was. No reason to put up a strong front when there weren't any girls around to impress.

He cleared his throat. "How are you feeling today?"

Toji rolled his eyes, but smiled. "I told you I'm fine." He slapped his wounded arm for effect. "I heal fast. I'll be one hundred percent in no time."

"Good." Kensuke sighed. "Because it looked bad." He remembered the last Nephilim's total reliance on offense to mow through Toji and Asuka. Now that he thought of it, it hadn't deployed an AT field once. _Weird._

"It could have been a lot worse. A normal person would have been skewered." He wasn't bragging, just stating the truth. "But Doc says if I keep training one day I could stop bullets with my blood skill."

"Wow. Uh, what about me? I don't think I can surpass twenty-twenty vision."

"Who knows? Doc told me blood skills can develop in really random ways. Maybe soon you'll see nothing but AT fields."

"Oh God, why would you joke about that?"

"Sorry, sorry," Toji said as he laughed. He sobered. "I never asked. How are you?"

"Huh? The Nephilim never touched me."

"Yeah, but, I mean, battle can be scary. My first sortie I nearly pissed my pants."

"A-Are you kidding?" Kensuke asked, shutting his locker. "It was _great!_ I got to see real combat and use all my training. I deployed from a moving VTOL to a skyscraper rooftop. I killed an inhuman monster from across the city. Uh, it sucks that you and Soryu got hurt, but it was an experience I wouldn't trade for the world."

Toji closed his locker. "You're a braver man than me."

They exited the changing room. They turned in opposite directions.

"Hey, didn't you want to grab some dinner?"

"Sorry," Toji said, still walking. "I got some stuff to do. Next time."

"Sure." Kensuke watched him head to the tram. "Next time."

He shrugged and headed to WILLE's cafeteria. Kensuke had no clue how they restocked in the underground base and didn't care as long as hot meals were waiting for him twenty-four hours a day. He long ago lost the ability to discern homemade from premade. His pallet evolved with a blind egalitarian appreciation, neither judging nor condemning a meal's origins, instead basking in whatever stimulation it could find.

He entered the spacious cafeteria, sterile like the rest of the base, function solidly outweighing form. Rows of chrome tables sat before a lunch line counter beneath fluorescents, although electronic panels along the walls offered simulated scenery in an attempted digestion aid to lull the unwary into forgetting they were underground. It struck Kensuke as sad.

A few WILLE uniforms were scattered about the tables between shifts. Kensuke spotted Lt. Hyuga at one, shoveling down soup without tasting it. He was glued to his phone, his thumb swiping and tapping with impressive speed and dexterity.

"Good evening," he greeted, passing by on his way to the counter.

Hyuga shook out of his texting coma. "Oh," he said. "Hey there, Aida. Evening already, you say?"

"Yeah. Busy as always, huh?"

"To put it mildly." He looked down at his meal, trying to remember where it went. "Normal days are hectic enough, but after a sortie things get crazy. There's tons of paperwork required for deployment by both the government and UN, with various levels of bureaucracy for each."

"Sounds tough."

"I haven't slept in thirty-one hours."

Kensuke bothered to notice the lieutenant's disheveled appearance, patchy five o'clock shadow and droning, lifeless tone. He returned to work on his phone while they spoke, a digital blur of emails and authorization requests.

"It's that bad?" he wondered aloud. "Seems like they'd cut us some slack since we're routinely saving their butts."

Hyuga offered a soulless chuckle at his naiveté. "The people in power have to defer to us, and they don't like it. But the Commander gets the worst of it by far. Her responsibilities are never-ending. It's up to me to assist her in any way I can. A lot of the time, that means dealing with a lot of red tape." He blew out a slow breath. "I'm used to it. It's just one more part of our prep. We have to be ready at all times."

Going about his daily life of school, Kensuke failed to consider WILLE's side. Being on perpetual standby against deadly monsters that randomly appeared at their doorstep must be nerve-racking. He got the feeling they were trapped, awaiting unavoidable doom. Why not take the fight to the enemy?

"How do you guys detect Nephilim?" he asked. "Is it just visual?"

Hyuga looked away from his phone. He scratched the back of his head. "The net we use is, um, pretty technical. Nephilim give off specific energy readings WILLE is able to detect, but only within a specific range. So we'll need to rely on the evacuation protocols every time one appears."

"I guess our deployments will always be local, then."

"Seems likely."

His phone beeped with a new message, then continued beeping. His thumb could not keep up.

"Oh, God," he moaned miserably. "I've never going to sleep."

"I wish I could help," Kensuke said as a farewell, inching towards the lunch counter.

A faint spark of life flickered in Hyuga's eyes, lifting him from the depths of despair. He turned with a sudden energy.

"Actually," he said, "there is something you can help me out with."

/\/\/\/\

He pressed the intercom button. He waited. He pressed it again. He waited again. His excited anticipation did not waver even after the fourth unanswered call and he opted to hold the button down, producing a sustained screech of electronic discontent.

After nearly a half-minute the intercom crackled to life and an exhausted sigh rattled out of Asuka's throat.

"I can only assume the worst," she said from inside her apartment. "You murdered a WILLE higher-up and stole my address from their shoddily mangled corpse."

"Nope," Kensuke replied cheerfully from her doormat. "Lt. Hyuga was slammed with work and couldn't leave base, so he asked me to check up on you." The silence over the intercom didn't fill him with confidence. "And to deliver dinner. Hurry, before it cools and congeals."

"… Leave the food. And purge my apartment address from your feeble mind."

"Sorry, those were not my orders. I have to make sure you're okay."

"With your extensive medical training and gifted common sense."

"Orders are orders." Kensuke shrugged helplessly with her renewed silence. "All right. I guess I'll have to eat all these burgers and fries by myself. And then report back to Lt. Hyuga, who will in turn report to the Commander that you disobeyed orders. But I'm sure she'll be reasonable with your punishment."

The apartment's front door slid open after two steps. Even Asuka's thoroughly sour scowl at him could not diminish his sense of elation at the victory, or the impact of the short shorts she was rocking.

" _Fine,_ " she groaned with every fiber of disgust she could muster. "See? I'm the picture of good health. Now give me the food and go report to our masters like a good boy."

"Lt. Hyuga was pretty insistent I make sure you can keep the meal down."

Kensuke stepped towards the threshold. She did not recoil, but stood firm, eyes calculating the means to get him the hell away from her. He did notice Soryu looked exceedingly tired but okay as she said, despite her arm still wrapped in thick bandages. But he was under ostensible orders from their CO to do something he dreamed about. Backing down from this unprecedented chance was not an option.

The standoff concluded as the bouquet of obscene amounts of fast food saturated the apartment doorway and Asuka's stomach reacted favorably and loudly.

"This is the most I can expect from you?" she asked. "Can't you cook?"

"Of course not. I'm a guy."

Asuka grumbled something. Then, lightning-fast, she snatched the bag of food from him and peeked inside.

He dared to press the situation. "So, it passes inspection?"

When she spoke, it was clipped, tense with frustrated defeat. "You can come in to eat. Then I'll cut your tongue out to keep this quiet. On second thought, who would believe you if you told?"

She spun and headed back inside. Kensuke leaped past the closing door.

"Don't touch my stuff," Asuka threw over her shoulder.

I'm in.

The front hall opened to the kitchen. A partitioned counter separated it from the living room and a small balcony. Beyond that a hallway with three doors. Kensuke was a novice explorer discovering El Dorado. He took it all in with awed wonder.

It was superficially the same layout as his apartment, but an unnamable, undeniable aura of mystery and exhilaration permeated everything. Even the thigh-high stacks of empty microwave meal packs in the kitchen. Or the three stuffed bags of garbage resting beside the fridge. Or the dirty dishes crowding every flat surface.

 _Huh,_ he thought. This was not how a girl's apartment should smell. And Soryu always smelled so great.

He shook it off. Kensuke took great care not to touch anything and followed Asuka to a slightly less messy living room where she deposited herself on a small couch. She dropped the bag of fast food on the short table before her and rifled through its contents. She ate like a death row prisoner and the warden just pissed in her last meal.

"I got the right food, right?" Kensuke asked. "Lt. Hyuga gave me a pretty specific list—"

"It's fine," she mumbled between handfuls of fries.

He made to sit beside her and she literally growled at him. The floor proved more welcoming. During a lull in her second burger Kensuke blindly darted a hand in and retrieved a carton of fries. Better than nothing.

They ate. He looked around. What he mistook for a glossy, dark wallpaper was a gigantic TV shadowing the couch. Littered around it were several game consoles, recent and retired, with various controllers and connection wires snaking over the dirty carpet. Kensuke felt warm joy.

 _A girl after my own heart,_ he thought.

He had to play it cool. It wouldn't do to simply blurt out he was a gamer, as well. That might scare her off or fall under what she expected. Then again, she had the setup prominently displayed in her living room, begging for comment. Then again, who else had access to her living room? Then again, how could she possibly have been expecting him tonight? Then again, she was smart enough to anticipate the unlikely likelihood.

Kensuke was managing a panic attack when a large, sleek box caught his eye and all discretion was thrown out the window.

"You have the super deluxe limited edition version of _Deadly Spirits 2_?" he gushed as he scampered over to it, his hands itching around the package. "There were only three thousand distributed worldwide. Oh, man, I never thought I'd see one in person. I wish I had my camera."

"A photo bug, huh?" Asuka mused, sipping a soda. "Figures." She skillfully kicked an empty fry carton at his head. "Hey. Look with your eyes, not your hands."

He sat back from the box in quiet reverence. "I only have the base game. I don't want to brag—"

"Then don't."

"—but I got all the trophies in under a month. And I'm ranked competitively online."

"You continue to excel in underwhelming me. The trophies are trash and so is the online community."

Kensuke went on, undeterred. "My win percentage is high seventies. And I've never lost a match against Toji."

"That's like saying you routinely beat a chimp. Nothing to be proud of."

"Nothing, you say," he intoned. "Can you claim to beat the final alternate boss without parrying? Can you claim full access to the hidden grimoire entries?"

"Why would I want to?" Asuka asked.

"Because it shows how good a player you are. Sounds like someone didn't earn the S-rank secret ending."

"Sounds like someone wants a beating."

He paused, momentarily unsure if she meant that rhetorically or literally. "Only one way to find out."

She booted up the game. She trounced him in their first match. He covered his shock with good-natured grace. Just a fluke, he told himself as the next round loaded. Now he was serious, and set to probing defenses and weaknesses without revealing any of his own.

She trounced him again, faster this time. The third was worse.

"Hey," he said, realizing the obvious, "you're not using blood skill, are you?"

Asuka shrugged. "Not like I can turn it off."

"That is totally unfair! No wonder you keep winning! This is worse than fighting a hacker online!"

"Shut your noise hole, crybaby," she told him.

The continued, casual abuse was nothing new but Kensuke feared it contained a new impetus. He had been careful to avoid mentioning why Lt. Hyuga was ordered to check up on her; while her injuries weren't severe enough to necessitate more than twenty-four hours in WILLE's hospital, they were still enough to merit continued concern. Along with Asuka's adamant refusal to stay in base longer, the Commander had no official reason to detain her.

Kensuke imagined bringing up any sort of infirmity with Soryu, real or imagined, was a Bad Idea. But there was also the understated issue: she was not involved in the Nephilim kill shot. She was instrumental in every victory he knew of and couldn't picture her any other way. He felt a burden of responsibility for sidelining her.

Two more matches lost, but Kensuke's outrage dimmed.

"I'm sorry," he finally blurted.

"There's too much you can be sorry for. Narrow it down."

"About the last battle." His eyes met her dull lack of comprehension. "I mean, aren't you mad at me? For killing the Nephilim?"

"Why would I be angry about that?"

"Well, uh, I thought maybe you thought I stole the kill from you."

Asuka, for the first time in his presence, smiled. It was not an expression of humor or affection but of a tired patience for stupidity. To Kensuke it was a shining brilliance and beacon of hope.

"You completed the mission," she told him. "Don't apologize for following orders."

"Oh. Right."

 _Wait,_ he thought. _So, she's normally this pissed at me? Damn it._

They played.

"I messed up," Asuka admitted. Kensuke looked like the world was ending. "I wanted to finish the fight quickly. Letting you get involved would only endanger everyone. You aren't ready for the battlefield."

"But I shot and killed the Nephilim."

"As a last ditch effort in a crisis situation. Katsuragi had no other option. It was a massive gamble I would not bet on again." She glanced at his sullen face. She sighed. "Just because you aren't ready now doesn't mean you never will be."

He perked up. He began losing again with aplomb. Asuka shook her head.

Her cell phone on the end table rang. Kensuke spied Horaki's name on the ID before Asuka snatched it away. She shot him a deadly "be quiet" look.

"Yeah, Hikari?" She listened. "Calm down. Stop crying. Take a breath and—" She rolled her eyes and stood, heading towards the relative privacy of the kitchen. "No, I'm sure he didn't mean it like that. He's a dumb boy from a dumb family. Even his sister is…"

Asuka left. Alone, staring at the pause screen, Kensuke was made aware of the shuddering pressure the two sodas he consumed held over his bladder. Added to the one he had at HQ. And the one at the fast food joint while he ordered. It was all on WILLE's dime, so why wouldn't he indulge?

He approached Asuka in the kitchen, still offering tired platitudes to soothe whatever the class representative was so upset about, to ask for permission to the bathroom. She squinted angrily at him, banishing him with a wave before he could speak. She turned her back and the phone conversation continued.

The need to pee defeated common sense and he headed for the bathroom on his own. He spotted the door ajar showing a sink crowded by cosmetics, brushes and perfumes. There was a lone sock hanging out of a drawer. The simple display was inexplicably exciting.

He glanced to his left. A small plaque reading "Asuka-chan" hung on the door opposite.

 _I shouldn't be doing this,_ he thought as he peeked inside the bedroom.

It was messy. Her wardrobe apparently exploded under pressure, scattering clothes everywhere. Almost no carpet was visible. Among the fabric landscape towers of books, magazines and CDs rose and fell like ruins. In a corner by the window a cased violin sat on a chair. Two thick DDR-like pads spilled out of the closet. A low shelving system housed even more video games.

Kensuke spied a shockingly clean nightstand by the unmade bed, naked except for a small rectangular device with ear buds coiled protectively around it.

 _I really shouldn't be doing this,_ he thought as he picked the SDAT player up.

He was only two notes into an unrecognizable classical piece when he was bodily yanked out of the bedroom, dragged across the living room and kitchen by the scruff of his neck. In the commotion he lost hold of the player. Time slowed as he watched the device drop to the linoleum floor awaiting certain destruction despite his best effort consisting of gritting his teeth.

Impossibly, Asuka's hand swam through the air to collect the SDAT. She held it with white knuckles.

 _"That doesn't belong to you!"_

The voice he expected to be angry was hurt.

She hurled him out of the apartment. He collided with the far wall, sprawled in a heap on the dirty floor. He contorted around to face her. Any apology died on his tongue.

Asuka stood framed in the doorway clutching the SDAT to her chest with both hands. She stumbled backwards into her apartment. The last thing Kensuke saw before the door slid shut was her wide, haunted eyes staring through him.

/\/\/\/\

He rotated his shoulders. He jogged in place. He blew out a breath.

"Okay," Kensuke said. "Here we go."

He entered the classroom with four minutes left before homeroom began, enough time to present a dignified groveling for forgiveness to Soryu. She was alone at her desk, chin in hand, using one finger to work her laptop.

Kensuke approached with stealthy care, smart enough to realize making a big public declaration would be disastrous for both of them. Mostly for him, from various angles. She'd be pissed he spilled the beans and every boy would be furious at his access to her apartment. He sidled next to her desk and cleared his throat.

"Soryu," he said to her. "Uh, I'm sorry." He wasn't used to apologizing to girls and hoped that covered it.

Asuka glanced up at him. Her face was utter impassivity.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

That threw him. He was positive she'd be quietly furious, all frowns and bitter squints cast in his direction for days. He was fully prepared to beg, if it came to that. He was not expecting her to act like nothing happened.

"Um, you know. Last night."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"What? I mean, I meant when I was at your place and—"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Her tone was odd. Cool without severity, only hinting at mild annoyance for him not making sense. Like he was telling her the sky was normally purple. A civil indifference.

It struck him harder than he wanted. She was treating him like a stranger.

 _Damn it._

His ego collapsed. "Then, uh, okay. I, uh… Okay."

Kensuke stumbled to his desk. He sat in a contemplative mood, watching Asuka work her laptop with casual, bored touches.

He turned to Toji, who was fighting off sleep. "You've known Soryu for a while, right?"

"Tis the burden I bear."

"Well, I was at her apartment last night…"

Toji's eyes widened in mute concern as the tale unfolded.

"… And just now she acted like nothing happened," Kensuke finished, sagging into his seat.

"So that's where it ended up," Toji said to himself. He shook his head. "You're lucky to be in one piece."

"Ha ha. Okay, granted, maybe I shouldn't have gone into her bedroom, but in my defense, who hangs a plaque with their name on it, in their own apartment?" He sagged further. "So, is this just typical protocol for really, _really_ pissed off girls?" He brightened with hopeless hope. "Or maybe I'm off the hook? Like, she feels embarrassed for overreacting and we'll sweep it all under the rug?"

"I doubt that."

"Yeah, Soryu is immune to weak emotions like embarrassment."

"No, I meant, she might feel she under reacted."

"Oh." Kensuke let that sink in. "That's not good."

He thought about the SDAT. Her reaction was more than concern for a vintage audio device. It was different than justified offense at him touching stuff in her bedroom. Soryu was annoyed with him plenty of times before but last night was beyond the norm of casual insults and idle irritation. He stumbled onto a deep, significant emotion.

"Some advice," Toji said, preempting his queries. "Don't go digging down that rabbit hole. And don't press your luck anymore than you have."

"I could use something more concrete than that."

"Give her some space. Never mention last night to her again; forget what happened."

The image of Asuka at her front door grasping the SDAT, shaken and vulnerable, was seared into his memory. Kensuke would never forget that.

/\/\/\/\

"Hold that tram!"

Kensuke looked behind him. He was at the final station in the city before heading into WILLE headquarters, about to board the tram on his way to yet another blissful appointment with Dr. Akagi's cold hands and humid laboratory. Jogging down the steps towards him was a man he never saw before.

He obviously got through the security checkpoint unscathed, so there was no harm in waiting. Kensuke held the tram door.

"Ah, thanks," the man said as he trotted over. He extended an easy hand. "You saved my next appointment. Hi there. I'm Ryoji Kaji."

"No problem," he responded. His shake was begrudging. "I'm Kensuke Aida."

"Good to meet you."

The man was tall. A disheveled UN uniform hung over him. A ponytail and scruffy facial hair spoke of a careless, natural association with rugged masculinity. He wore the smile fixed on his lips like a weapon.

They sat across from each other. The tram rumbled off.

"So," Kensuke said. "You're UN, huh?"

He looked over his uniform. "It certainly appears so."

"You wouldn't happen to know the guy responsible for the Nephilim that escaped from the UN fleet a few months back, would you? The one that killed all those people?"

The man's good humor dimmed a few watts. "The one that attacked your old home, right?"

"Yeah."

"It may shock you to discover adults in power don't always make the right decision." He rubbed his jaw. "What happened was a mistake. A few heads rolled on the chain of command, which in a bureaucracy means a strategic reshuffling of personnel. I can't imagine any lessons were learned."

"That fills me with confidence."

"I do owe you an apology," Kaji went on. "Or rather, I should apologize for my subordinate's actions."

"Your subordinate?"

"She has a spirited sense of self-initiative. Ms. Kirishima took it upon herself to seek you out. Ill-advised, but—"

Kensuke groaned loudly. He felt battered and beaten, attacked on all sides. Kirishima's superior was this cool, debonair adult with suave disregard to facial hair and a rebellious attitude towards the strict UN dress code mandates.

 _God damn it,_ he thought. No wonder Mana was so intensely loyal to her work.

"She reported she told you her identity, but this wasn't part of a UN conspiracy against you."

"Knowing she was messing with me on her own is supposed to make me feel better?"

Kaji smiled. "Try not to be too hard on her. She's had a rough time."

"She's a liar and a thief. You do know she's hustling gamers at the arcades, right?"

"Well, okay, be a little hard on her. But there are always mitigating circumstances."

The tram continued.

"Try not to let your past experiences sour you on the UN," Kaji told him. "You might not believe it but we are all on the same side."

Kensuke crossed his arms with a huff. "Soryu certainly doesn't think so," he said. "Or the Commander."

"We don't always see eye to eye." His voice was different, a quick bitterness seeping in. In the next moment, it vanished, smothered by blithe good cheer. "But I don't think Soryu believes anyone is on her side."

"You know her?"

"She used to yell at me from time to time."

"Yell?" Kensuke casually asked. "What made her change?" While Mr. Kaji was undoubtedly part of the UN frenemy bloc, this was a prime opportunity to learn more about Soryu. "Usually she's so collected and unruffled, but not in a cold or detached way. Like, she's too cool for school, but she really _is_ too cool so it isn't pretentious." Kaji looked askew at him. "Uh, you know, I mean, she isn't loud."

"Not loud," Kaji mused. "Maybe she did change." There was something there, regret and pride and guilt all crowding to break free and be heard. "Admittedly, I haven't seen her in some time. Change is to be expected. But I can't picture her not struggling against some egregious affront to her person."

"Oh, she definitely doesn't suffer fools quietly. I can promise that."

"It's good to hear she's still fighting. But hopefully not against her teammates."

"I cannot promise that."

The tram's track shifted to a smoother gradient, leveling out to nearly horizontal. They were almost at the base.

"What brings you here today?" Kensuke asked. "I've never seen a UN rep in person before."

"It's long overdue. Actually, I'm here about you. You participated in combat recently. Some of the higher-ups got worried WILLE was actively recruiting."

"Yeah, well, ask anyone on base. Me being a member of WILLE is a freak accident. Or just talk to Soryu. I'm sure she'd like to kick me out if she had the option."

"Ah," Kaji said, nodding in commiseration. "Her kicking people definitely sounds like her. Don't give up. A woman's good graces might seem an impossible dream, but every day is a new chance. Perseverance wins the battle." He smiled. "I'm glad I talked to you, Aida. I don't get the opportunity to speak to the Children like this anymore."

"Yeah. About that. That codename sucks. Any idea where it came from?"

"WILLE naming practices are beyond me. Their reasons are their own, more or less. Although I agree with you. I've never liked the moniker, especially when they work so hard to make you grow up."

Kaji looked out the tram window. Lights flashed against the glass as they sped through the underground tunnel connecting WILLE HQ to the rest of the world.

"Being a grownup," he said, "means looking at the world without turning away."

/\/\/\/\

Chapter 6 end

Author notes: I'm pretty sure the whole "Asuka loves fast food" thing is spin-off only, but I find it inexplicably cute.

Next chapter: What's black and blue and pale all over?


	7. Birdcage

Covenant Red

Chapter 7: Birdcage

Disclaimer: I do not own Evangelion.

/\/\/\/\

The meeting was last minute but Kensuke expected that kind of breakneck scheduling from WILLE. Downtime was an increasingly rare luxury. His participation in the last battle renewed the drive to increase his weapon proficiency, fast tracking an already hectic training regimen. There was a brief reprieve as Asuka recovered from her injuries, and Kensuke was using it to restore his physical and mental stamina. It simply wouldn't do to greet Instructor Soryu with fatigued negligence.

That, and he was still in the doghouse from his visit to her apartment. He figured a little time to regroup and settle would do them both good. They only saw each other at school, and even then she wasn't really seeing him. Indifference lingered in their meager interactions since; he was just another pebble beneath her feet.

But that would change once they were together in WILLE training again. He'd remind her he was a Child like her, and he'd bury all this unpleasantness under his continued progress. Things had to get back on track.

He received the summons to WILLE over breakfast, unceremoniously mandating the rest of his day before it got started. Not that his Sundays were typically packed with meaningful activity but it was the assumptive tone his superiors used when stealing his off hours that was irksome.

Kensuke finished his waffle, brushed his teeth and called Toji to make the trip into headquarters together. He was already en route, in the city on errands.

"You're an early riser," he chided.

 _"Eh,"_ Toji said. _"I had stuff to do. When else am I going to do it?"_

"I guess. When do you sleep, man?"

 _"What else is school for? See you at HQ."_

Kensuke headed downtown to the train depot. There was a healthy crowd out, bustling in an oblivious rush. Any damage from the previous battle was repaired and swept from the public's mind. In a sense it was impressively hopeful how stubborn humans were in the face of repeated assault. Just pick up the pieces of what was left and carry on.

He spied the tram gate leading to headquarters at the top of a row of escalators, discreetly tucked into an inconspicuous corner of architecture. Kensuke checked a large clock on the wall. He had time to grab a soda from the food court before the meeting.

He paid with a swipe from his WILLE debit card and looked for an empty table to relax at. Most were occupied. To his left, a middle-aged man browsing a financial magazine over a coffee. Ahead, a family of four; two weary parents blaming each other with silent, accusatory glances, and a pair of unaware, noisy boys. To his right, Asuka Langley Soryu doing her best to blend into the crowd behind her phone. Which was, even with her skills, impossible.

Kensuke slipped through the shackles of social tact and good judgment, and was walking towards her before he realized it was a mistake.

"Soryu," he greeted. Zero response. Maybe she was just really focused on her phone. "Good morning. I wasn't expecting to see you here."

Again, no reaction. He rolled the dice and made to sit at her table. She kicked the chair away and he collapsed. He managed not to spill his entire soda.

"I'll stand," he decided.

Asuka was forced to lift her feet onto a free chair as his drink oozed over the tile floor.

"Always making a mess," she muttered. She finally glanced over her phone in his general direction. "So this is how you dress on your day off, huh?"

He looked over his cargo shorts and t-shirt. "Yeah?"

"At least when you're in school you can blame the uniform on someone else."

"Then, how about you give me some tips? Let's hit the mall."

"Not on your life, kid."

Asuka was back to hurling insults. Things felt back to normal.

Kensuke hoped the other night's progress at her apartment, notwithstanding the whole violating her privacy and getting kicked out parts, would prove a springboard to a closer bond. Her tone since then communicated he definitely lost some points. At best, he was back to square one.

But that was okay, he told himself. He now knew what not to do. Sneaking into her bedroom was a bad idea. He probably wouldn't do that again. But he gleaned invaluable information on her and promised to utilize it once the time was right.

"So," Kensuke began, "it's good to see you out. I guess your arm's feeling better?"

 _Wow,_ he thought, watching her face. That was the wrong subject to bring up.

"I mean, you're here waiting for the tram to WILLE, right? Since the meeting's coming up soon, we could—"

"What meeting?" Asuka asked.

"Uh, you did get the message to report to HQ this morning, didn't you? Toji should be there by now."

"You must have dreamt all that," she said, though she thumbed through her phone records to check. "Why would they hold a meeting and tell you two but not me?"

"That is kind of weird."

"Must be an oversight. WILLE has its head so far up its own butt of course they summon the fodder Children and not me." Asuka hummed in idle thought, opening a text message. "I was supposed to meet Hikari for some reason, but your secret party is bugging me. I'll have to crash it."

Count Kensuke in. A chance to spend some quality time in the cramped tram to base was a godsend. They headed to it, Asuka firing off a short rain check to the class representative before returning to the previously opened astronomy app. He smiled, learning something new about her. They boarded.

"So, are you—"

"Shut up," she sighed, never looking away from her phone.

They travelled in silence. He looked on the bright side: she smelled fantastic and looked even better.

They exited the tram into WILLE. They passed through the front gates and Asuka gave Kensuke the honor of leading, mostly since she didn't know where the meeting was. As they reached the designated conference room he caught sight of her arm again, still lightly bandaged.

"You're sure you're okay?" he blurted, opening the door.

"I'm fine, _mom_. Your misguided anxiety only shows how little you know me. I don't need the peanut gallery—"

Asuka stopped dead in her tracks. She stared straight ahead with wide disbelief. Kensuke followed her gaze.

Before them in the room was the expected WILLE regulars, along with Toji, the Commander, and a girl he never saw before. She turned towards them. Blood red eyes appraised him with clinical impassivity.

Before anyone could react Asuka darted past Kensuke. She vaulted over a couch to reach the girl, and brought a forearm up to pin her to the wall by her throat.

"What is this _thing_ doing out of its cage?!" Asuka snarled.

There was a moment of shock. The attack so swiftly destroyed decorum everyone simply watched it occur. The Commander was the first to recover.

"Let her go, Soryu," she calmly warned. She was cautiously staying put, treating the situation like a stray cat wandered into the base.

The other adults shifted to accommodate the Commander, letting her take the lead. Maya looked pale. Toji was tensed, ready for combat, but his sights remained locked on the new girl, not Soryu.

"I'm out for a few days and you completely abandon all sense of self-preservation?" Her body language was composed tension, a focused, targeted rage. "This monster should never walk free again."

"It was never your decision to make."

"You should have told me," Asuka hissed at Misato. "I have a right to know."

"What you have is an order. Let her go, now."

The girl finally reacted to being strangled against the wall. She had accepted the attack, not defending herself in the least. Now her hands inched upward, thin fingers weakly searching for relief against Asuka's forearm. She clenched her teeth shut. She closed her eyes.

The girl gasped for breath.

 _"Soryu!"_ Misato yelled.

Asuka stepped back and retracted her arm. The girl slumped to the floor, coughing dimly. Maya wobbled on her feet. Toji looked away.

"It was too soon for you to come back," the Commander said to Asuka. They exchanged a glare. "Go home and cool your head."

"Go to hell."

Kensuke was too stunned to speak. He watched Asuka storm back out of the base towards the tram. She ignored him completely as she passed. Her face was a halted murder.

"That went better than expected," Ritsuko said, eyeing the girl on the floor slowly rise, using the wall for support. No one offered help.

Kensuke finally broke from his paralysis to gesture wildly. "What was that all about?!"

The others appraised him with varying degrees of pitied discomfort for his ignorance. The Doctor sighed, stepping forward to educate.

"That was about what you can expect working with teenagers," she muttered before clearing her throat. "You seem prone to severe introductions, Aida. Our apologies. We hoped to avoid something like what just occurred. Springing this on Soryu was, as we imagined, disastrous."

"Why?" He looked at the new girl, absently probing her throat. "Who is that?"

"This is Rei Ayanami," Ritsuko said. "The First Nephilim."

/\/\/\/\

Kensuke was proud he didn't freak out or run away. It helped everyone around him was calmly accepting the situation, Asuka's assault notwithstanding. Despite the subdued mood he found himself on edge, his fingers unconsciously searching out his rifle's trigger as a Nephilim stood before him.

Granted, this Nephilim was not some genderless grotesquery indiscriminately tearing apart the city or mowing people down. Although her eyes, and he was pretty sure it was a her, remained a constant, unwavering red.

"I'm sure you have questions," Ritsuko said.

"A few."

"The results of the last battle were substandard," Misato began.

"Gee, thanks," Kensuke mumbled.

"Two injured Children and a reserve called to take emergency action to defeat the Nephilim. This is unacceptable. We're adopting a more aggressive stance. Effective immediately, Ayanami is reinstated into WILLE's combat force."

"Reinstated?" He looked back at the girl, standing at attention like nothing happened.

"Ayanami lives on base," Ritsuko said, "and she has combat experience prior to your arrival. She'll be helping out again on the front lines."

"But…" Kensuke felt like a jerk needing to say the obvious. "But you said she's a Nephilim." The girl appeared to take no offense at being talked around, staring calmly ahead.

"She's on our side," Misato stated, and that was apparently enough for everyone else in the room.

Including Toji, who was relaxed again, acting more bored than anything else. He refused to look at Rei, but remained positioned within striking distance.

Ritsuko nodded briefly. "Ayanami, if you would."

She stared at Kensuke. Her eyes flashed a brighter red and the lights dimmed.

"Ayanami's blood skill is energy manipulation," the Doctor explained. "She can use her body as a conduit and redirect or siphon power from external sources. Including AT fields, effectively weakening Nephilim defenses."

Her eyes returned to their normal coloring. The lights brightened.

"Ayanami is our Nephilim radar. As soon as they move within her range she can detect, and weaken their AT fields. Her ability is proximity sensitive, meaning the closer the target is, the weaker she can make it. It's a dangerous tradeoff, but it's also the best chance we have at defeating them."

 _And she's okay with that?_ Kensuke thought. Using a Nephilim to find, and kill, other Nephilim? He recalled Mana's concerns. _I guess I_ don't _know WILLE._

An excited litany of questions had not met with favorable results in the past and he forced himself to calm down. Before he could articulate anything the Commander made to depart, drawing in Ritsuko and Rei behind her.

"Training exercises are postponed until tomorrow. Dismissed." Misato turned aside to Ritsuko: "Give Ayanami a once-over. Make sure Soryu didn't do any lasting damage."

Kensuke bit his tongue. He knew when adults made up their minds there was no arguing with them, even if he was right.

The meeting dispersed; Misato left with Dr. Akagi and Rei in tow, the lieutenants filed out to return to duty. Asuka had not come back. Kensuke wondered if she would.

That left him and Toji alone in the empty conference room. The taller boy shook his head, banishing the entire incident from his mind, and headed to the door. Kensuke quickly fell in step beside him as he left for the tram.

"So," he tried, "a new teammate, huh?"

Toji shrugged dismissively. "I've worked with Ayanami before."

"Really?"

"Yeah." His tone announced that was the end of that conversation.

"Still, it's good news, right? Having another Child to help out—"

"She isn't a Child," Toji stated.

His tone was fatigued, drained of emotion. His posture followed suit, his limbs hanging off his frame. Every step was heavy.

They walked.

"What the heck?" Kensuke finally asked. "I thought Nephilim were our enemies. You know, those ugly monsters hell-bent on our destruction?"

He sighed like an old man. "It's a long story. But it boils down to what the Commander and Doc already told you. Ayanami is on our side. Leave it at that."

"But why wasn't she around helping us before? And why did Soryu attack her like that?"

"Look," Toji said. His tone was brisk but lacked anger. "Just shoot what WILLE tells you to shoot and you'll be fine. All these questions aren't doing anybody any favors."

"Ayanami is going into battle with you and Soryu from now on," Kensuke reminded him. "You really expect to function together as a team like this?"

"We did before, more or less. We know our jobs. And we'll do them. It'd be best if you did that, too."

They reached the gate before the tram back to the city. Toji passed through. Kensuke stayed put.

"I don't think this is the best way to handle things," he said.

Toji did not look back. "We got our orders. Follow them."

/\/\/\/\

Kensuke considered it rationally. Where would a teenage girl hang out if confined to base? He checked the galley, the rec room, even the small library without success. Toji was no help, and none of the WILLE employees he passed seemed interested in discussing the situation.

 _Screw it,_ he thought. He pulled out his phone and called Aoba.

He answered between the first and second ring. _"Aida. What can I do for you?"_

How to phrase it without looking like a stalker. "Actually, I'm still in base and…"

 _"I know. GPS."_

"Oh." He buried that information for a future anxiety attack. "Right. Well, I was wondering about Ayanami since I just met her today, and I haven't seen her around base, but I got the impression she would be here. I mean, you guys don't keep her in a literal cage… do you?"

 _"She is part of WILLE,"_ Aoba reminded him.

"So, that's a 'no' to the cage question."

 _"What do you want from me, Aida?"_

"Look, I… I just want to talk to her. The Commander and Dr. Akagi acted like she's a tool, Toji can't be bothered with this, and Soryu—" He sighed. "You said it yourself: she's a part of WILLE. So I think since I'm a part of it too, I should at least say hi before treating her like a bad rash."

 _"Again, what do you want from me?"_

"Where is Ayanami right now? If you have tabs on my phone you probably know where she is."

The line went mute. Kensuke wondered if he was checking her location, or asking permission to do so. He expected a tired "it's classified."

 _"Fifth level, arboretum wing."_

"Oh. Thanks," Kensuke said, covering his surprise.

 _"And Aida,"_ Aoba said, _"good luck."_

/\/\/\/\

The base, although a tangle of convoluted hallways on map, was clearly labeled, and Kensuke found the fifth level without much difficulty. He came to a wide door flanked by two armed guards. Neither openly acknowledged his approach.

"Uh, hi," Kensuke tried. No response. "I can go through here, right?" Again, silence. He edged his way between them and opened the door. _That wasn't awkward at all._

He stepped into light. WILLE's arboretum was a sprawling, high ceilinged chamber meticulously recreating the kind of bucolic splendor Kensuke expected in a national park. Despite still being underground it was bathed in noonday brightness. The roof was a curved dome, covered in thousands of faceted blue metallic plates simulating a cloudless sky.

A walkway snaked through clusters of trees, isolated gardens and a sizeable body of sparkling water. Kensuke felt like he was in his youth again, camping in the wilderness on the outskirts of his hometown.

The nostalgia was short-lived. The recreation was immaculate, but it remained a recreation. Everything was clearly planned and designed, lacking the natural random charm of the real world. It was spotlessly clean, from the walkway's pressure-treated plating to each individual plant. The arboretum was also eerily silent. No birds sang, no wildlife rustled the underbrush.

It felt out of place. What purpose did this serve, deep underground in a paramilitary organization? Kensuke recalled the stark cafeteria, and its video walls. It was like WILLE was a half-finished project, designed by two people in a competition to out-juxtapose each other.

He travelled the walkway until it bent around the lip of the pond to a bench. Rei was there, sitting in calm repose with a thin book. Kensuke noted her posture was excellent.

His approach was met with indifference. He cleared his throat. No reaction.

"Hi," he offered.

Rei's eyes flickered in his direction, then returned to her book.

"I'm Kensuke Aida. We sort of didn't meet earlier." He didn't get reciprocation. This was killing his batting average. "So, what are you reading?" She made no effort to show or tell. He craned his neck. "Oh. A WILLE calendar. Always good to stay up to date on what's happened lately."

Still nothing. Kensuke wondered if she took any offense to his killing of her fellow Nephilim. He decided on a different route.

"Nice day today," he said. He remembered they were underground. "I mean, it's nice that we can get sunlight down here. I think. I asked Lt. Hyuga about it once and he talked about a system of mirrors or something… That's pretty cool, I guess."

Rei continued reading. After dealing with Asuka for so long, it felt unnatural to be simply ignored by a girl instead of insulted, and then ignored.

He peered at her, planning the next volley. Maybe it was her pale skin combined with the unusual lighting, but there was a faint glimmer around her.

 _Spooky._

His sight was drawn to the bruise on her neck, a purplish stain on otherwise flawless skin. Despite himself Kensuke let his eyes dip further. It was unfortunate. Ayanami had beautiful features and a stellar figure, but her skin tone and messy, bizarre hair were truly off-putting. To say nothing of her bloody eyes. Or her personality of passive abuse-sponge.

His sight flitted back up. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe she did have a rebellious streak. Although she was clad in the somber colors of a modified WILLE female uniform, she sported a sleek, polished black choker with a digital clasp. It looked high-tech and expensive, jewelry he expected on a girl of Soryu's fine tastes.

"That collar is pretty," Kensuke remarked. _Girls like compliments about their appearance, right?_ "Very chic."

Rei read.

"Not that I know about fashion or anything. I just go for what's comfortable, you know?"

Rei turned a page.

"Not like there's a mall down here, but, uh, yeah. I guess that uniform is comfy? It, um, fits well."

Talking at someone as opposed to engaging in conversation wasn't entirely alien to him. Toji liked video games, but he was casual, taking no interest in the finer technical aspects. Most of Kensuke's interactions with Soryu consisted of being repeatedly shot down. Even the teachers at school weren't above speaking over their students.

But Ayanami's silence didn't stem from arrogance or boredom or even shyness. Her apathy to friendly stimulus felt like a complete lack of social responsiveness; her actions would not alter if he left, continued making small talk, or stood on his head and barked like a dog.

 _Well,_ Kensuke thought, _if I was nearly choked and no one lifted a finger to help me, I guess I'd block it all out, too._

He wanted to think of her as human. She looked like a human, moved like a human, breathed like a human. She was not an acid-spitting monster slaughtering UN troops and his neighbors. She was a girl reading a book.

"Are you okay?" Kensuke finally asked her.

"What do you mean?" Rei spoke, not looking away from her current page.

He refused to cheer at the victory. "About what happened earlier today. Doesn't it bother you?"

"No."

A girl of few words. But at least he achieved verbal recognition.

"Well, it bothered me," he declared. _Not that I rushed in to save you._ "Everyone said you're part of the team, but no one acted like it. We should be helping each other out."

"WILLE has a use for me," she stated. "Their behavior towards me is irrelevant."

"Even when they attack you?"

Asuka might be a verbal flamethrower in dispensing insults but she never tried to kill him or Toji. The way she snapped to physical violence was unexpected, even on the battlefield. It had to be more than an instinctual reaction to finding a Nephilim before her.

"Why did Soryu do that?" he asked quietly.

"I do not know."

"No, I mean… Yeah, I don't know either, but why does she seem so upset with you?"

"I do not know."

Kensuke had a stubborn flashback of Ritsuko telling him "it's classified" to his walls of questions. He slumped.

"So," he began, "it's just like Toji said. You'll all work together in battle and that's it. How can anybody be okay with that?"

Rei's eyes crawled away from her book to find the pond. The surface was a deep blue.

"All I have is in WILLE," she said. "There is nothing for me outside its walls."

/\/\/\/\

He couldn't help but feel the day was a bust. His chance to interact with Soryu, while unanticipated, fell flat. The returning good mood in the wake of Mana's conversation was scuttled. He again felt like an outsider among WILLE members, wading in the surf of a vast, unknowable ocean.

"I've fought for them, I sit through weeks of tests and do whatever they say," Kensuke muttered as he waited for the tram back to the city. "I think I've earned some trust. Or treatment beyond 'security risk.' It's only fair."

He pictured Rei, silent and alone, reading mission summaries in a mock-up of the real world. He knew what happened today was not fair.

"Mr. Aida."

He turned. Maya Ibuki was approaching from a bend in the hall. She looked exhausted but welcoming as ever.

"Oh, hello."

Out of his regular contacts at WILLE, she felt the most accessible. Toji was a friend, but his gung-ho loyalty to the organization wasn't answering any questions. Ms. Ibuki at least had the common decency to act contrite when she couldn't supply information. It didn't hurt that she was amazingly cute, either.

"Busy day?" he tried.

Maya laughed lightly. "You could say that. I'm coming off a triple shift. Times like this I reconsider keeping a place on base."

"I guess there was a lot to do for Ayanami?"

She shifted. "Yes. Re-commissioning her isn't exactly a rubberstamp affair."

"Yeah, Toji mentioned he worked with her before. I guess Soryu did, too." He saw her pained expression. "Classified, huh?"

"No. But I don't think it's my place to meddle in this."

Kensuke sighed. "Toji said it was a long story. I'll keep bugging him until he tells me." Given his other routes of Red and Blue oni, Suzuhara would be a cakewalk.

Maya smiled. "Lt. Aoba told me you called him. I think it's very nice that you wanted to talk to Ayanami."

"For all the good it did. I don't think she's in the market for a friend."

"She can be difficult to get to know. To be honest, I met her years ago and I can count the number of words she's said to me on one hand."

They boarded the tram. With a lurch it started back aboveground. They sat across from each other, Maya fending off sleep, Kensuke striving to stay serious and not admire Ms. Ibuki's legs again.

"So," he began, suddenly aware of what was bugging him for hours, "does this mean the other Nephilim were like Ayanami? They could talk, and read, and reason?"

"Nephilim are inhuman," she stated. It didn't sound too rehearsed. "Ayanami is an exception. As such, special accommodation was given when she agreed to fight on our side."

Her tone was different now, edging well into professional territory. Kensuke didn't want to burn this bridge and backed off a step.

"Does that accommodation include wardrobe?" he joked lightly. "That choker she had on was definitely not standard-issue."

Maya looked away like he just insulted a dead relative.

"What?" he asked.

She bit her lip in silent debate. "That collar isn't a fashion statement. It's a precaution the Commander took."

Kensuke peered at her for enlightenment.

"It's a bomb," she finally explained, "that will end her life if she does anything against direct orders. The Commander has the trigger on her at all times."

The friendly openness that colored their interactions dissolved. Maya suddenly felt like an enemy. Everyone at WILLE seemed poised to end Ayanami through overt or covert violence. Did they really consider her nothing but a commodity? Did they consider him the same way?

Maya tried to rebound, prodding him with benign small talk; how was school, how was living at the complex. Kensuke made sure to be polite, falling back on his Office Manners to avoid further conflict. He stopped asking questions.

He made an excuse not to ride back to his apartment with Maya. He wandered the streets under a twilight glow. He scanned the crowds for burly agents in dark suits with earpieces tracking his movements. WILLE bugged his phone, had access to his apartment and commanded enough resources to place a phantom tether around his neck, keeping him caged in the city. He wondered if this was how Ayanami felt.

/\/\/\/\

End of chapter 7

Author notes: Worry not! This isn't going DARK on you.

Next chapter: Les bêtes.


	8. Metal Coffin

Covenant Red

Chapter 8: Metal Coffin

Disclaimer: I do not own Evangelion.

/\/\/\/\

Of course the noodles were soggy. It was a disappointing end to a disappointing day.

The beef bowl stand proprietor was an old man with leathery skin, taking great pride in the elaborate open preparations of meals he peddled to the city's salarymen every work night. His toned, sleeveless arms would exaggerate the normal gestures of cooking with aplomb, drawing crowds in and letting the fresh aromas seal the deal. The production was lost on Kensuke who looked for the closest eatery outside the train station. He gnawed on a piece of overcooked meat in misery.

He assumed finally being formally integrated into WILLE's combat team by Misato would be a cause for cheer, at least among the Children. The Commander made a brief announcement after his latest training session crested the prerequisite benchmarks, and was done with it. Toji and Rei weren't even present, being informed via text. The other adults seemed more concerned about the extra paperwork he'd create. Asuka asked if she could stop training him now.

Kensuke forged ahead and asked her if she wanted to join him for a celebratory meal.

"What's there to celebrate?" she grumbled. "Now I have to worry about Nephilim _and_ you screwing up on the battlefield."

He questioned the faith she had in her own training regimen. That proved not to be a good idea.

He rode out of the base alone, impressed with Asuka's verbal arsenal and willingness to humiliate him in front of others. That took wits and bravado. She didn't have any other plans, she just really, really did not want to be near him, and made sure he knew it with some colorful language and several shots at his intelligence, masculinity and right to exist.

Rei was confined to base. And she'd probably tell him partying was irrelevant. If he was lucky. He could just as easily picture her staring through him in silence until he wilted and left. The lieutenants were all busy accommodating his new position.

Kensuke liked to think he was a positive guy. He wasn't prone to moping or depression, or moping over things that should make him depressed. But the sense of invalidation he received from the day's events spilled over into his call from the train station to Toji. He needed some sort of encouragement that his life was not collapsing in around him.

 _"_ _Give me a couple minutes,"_ Toji said before he arrived, not even asking what was wrong.

They sat together on a public bench near the beef bowl stand, making room for the after work rush of customers. A street lamp spread a pool of light around them.

"Thanks for treating me," Toji said. He slurped up a mouthful of noodles.

"Sure," Kensuke sighed. "I felt buying a meal outside WILLE on their dime was appropriate. Like, I finally earned it."

"About all that. Welcome aboard, for real this time. Glad to have you." He clapped him on the back. "Be sure to clean up the frontline mess the next time Soryu and me mess up."

"When you put it like that, I'd prefer to stay on the noncom side of things. Was it this way when you joined up? It felt like everybody was in a rush not to celebrate anything."

Toji rubbed his chin. "It wasn't as if WILLE was party central back then, but yeah. I hear you." He noticed Kensuke's sudden interest. "It gets into stuff even I'm not entirely sure of. Hey, you're not the only person who gets to hear 'it's classified' when they start asking questions."

"Great. Blind leading the blind. For a seasoned vet you're not offering this rookie much help."

"I'm just here for the free food."

They ate.

"Maybe we should have hit WILLE's cafeteria," Kensuke reconsidered as he poked around his bowl. "At least that way Ayanami could have eaten with us."

"You've been talking a lot about her lately," Toji commented.

"Well, I, I mean I think it's only natural. Or is WILLE in the habit of stashing teenagers away in their underground labyrinth?"

"I'm not on trial here."

"But you admit the way everyone treats Ayanami is weird, right?"

"Ayanami is weird," Toji returned.

"That might be putting the cart before the horse. Is she weird because of the way she's treated, or is she treated that way because she's weird?"

"So you think she's weird, too."

"You're changing the subject." Kensuke frowned. "I've been training with her under Dr. Akagi's supervision whenever I'm not training with Soryu." He shifted. "It's been uncomfortable."

Asuka refused to instruct him near Ayanami. At least Kensuke could claim Soryu would stand to be in the same room as him without choking him. It felt like a victory. But accommodating two very different girls who apparently thought next to nothing of him was a depressing balancing act. He was stuck on the high wire between two buildings he was banned from entering.

While Asuka continued overseeing his sniping progress, Ritsuko informed him Ayanami would join him in a support posture during battle to aid him in detecting Nephilim. They ran through preliminary drills to try and establish a rapport. Calling it a working relationship was generous. Calling it a relationship of any kind was generous. He had a better feel for his rifle.

Success and failure were met uniformly by Rei, expressing neither satisfaction nor frustration. She simply accepted the result and awaited the next order. There was no individual drive. If she possessed any opinions on the exercises' efficiency she kept them to herself. Like at her introduction, Dr. Akagi treated her as a piece of machinery and Rei showed no displeasure. She acted on orders without fail.

Toji liked to remind him "orders are orders" but he wasn't a humorless tool methodically completing objectives while stuck on mute. He had hobbies and wants. He had a sense of self between orders. Ayanami didn't. Then again, Toji was allowed to live like a normal human being.

"Did you expect training with Ms. Roboto would be fun and games?"

"No," Kensuke answered, "but, I don't know. I expected her to show me _something_ after spending time together. Some hint of understanding what human emotion is."

"Maybe you're just not her type," Toji said.

"Shut up. That's not what I meant."

"I don't know what you want me to say, man. I told you the job would suck sometimes. Sure, I don't have to interact with Soryu and Ayanami as much as you do, so you're at a higher level of suckage, but the principle still applies."

Kensuke waved that away. "Forget that. I want to know why it doesn't bother you. Everybody treats Ayanami like a monster on a leash, and you seem fine with that."

"Yeah, I am."

The night was deep, dark blue around their tiny circle of light. Toji ate with gusto, he always ate with gusto, despite any conversation or lack thereof. Kensuke picked at his bowl, skewering a chunk of meat and watching the broth seep inside. He glanced at his companion.

"Why?" he asked.

Toji sighed. "Just because she looks human doesn't mean she is. Hell, there are people out there that don't consider _us_ human anymore because of our blood."

"And are you okay with _that?_ "

He shrugged. "Screw 'em. I was born human and I'll die human. My blood skill doesn't change that. But Ayanami was never human, and never will be. Don't be suckered by appearances. The Commander knows what she's doing. I trust her. Don't you?"

"I guess."

"Well, you should. Back when we first brought you in, before you woke up, nobody knew what to do. For all we knew you could have been contaminated, or developed a skill that poisoned everyone, or blew up or something crazy. All options were on the table." Toji stared at him, letting that sink in.

Kensuke audibly swallowed.

"The Commander took charge like always. She told us WILLE exists to protect humans, and you were a human. So as long as WILLE existed, we'd protect you. That's our mission, and it's your mission, now, too. That means following the Commander's orders. No matter what."

He looked out over the city. Skyscrapers were electric beacons against the darkness. Traffic flowed beneath them in coordinated patterns of light and sound, propelled by oblivious people. To Kensuke's left a late salaryman in a rumpled suit ambled up to the beef bowl stand. The proprietor greeted him with a sharp, enthusiastic wave.

This was the city he was tasked to defend. This was the way of life he was tasked to uphold. Like Toji said, no matter what.

Kensuke sighed again. He supposed it was far too late to back out now.

Toji glanced up at a public clock. "It's late. I need to get going. You should too. Tomorrow's a school day."

"Yeah…"

"Thanks for the meal." He rose and tossed his empty bowl into a nearby trashcan. He paused. "I don't want to mess this up. I like hanging out with you. But there are some things you're better off not questioning when you're part of WILLE."

Kensuke watched him leave. Soon he was a street away, walking with confidence and looking straight ahead. The city swallowed him with a dozen others on the sidewalk as cars flashed by. Kensuke tried to latch onto the stable security he left in his wake.

/\/\/\/\

He felt better by the end of the week. As much as Kensuke tried not to, it was too tempting to think of Ayanami as just another odd part of WILLE. They lived underground, employed kids to fight monsters and had some weird work-release program going on with the enemy. Like Toji said, there were some things he was better off not questioning, especially when he wasn't getting any answers.

The school day was over. The students rose and departed. Except Kensuke, who was assigned cleanup duty. When he first transferred in he hoped WILLE would handwave any and all school-related responsibilities. That hope was short-lived. To the public, before all else, he was a normal high school student and had to fulfill the obligations expected of one. Logically, he knew it made sense. Special accommodations might tip people off. Privately, having to perform both academically and professionally sucked.

He was on duty with a thin girl whose name he never bothered to learn, and Horaki, who acted as overseer while also organizing files for the teacher. They worked in silent coordination, starting in the center row of desks and cleaning outwards. It was tedious but Kensuke's patience was finely honed from months of repetitive training exercises. He worked with calm mindfulness without rushing. He was only on the second row when the thin girl finished her side of the room.

 _Am I really that slow?_ he lamented. Soryu's frustrated impatience seemed more reasonable.

"See you, class rep," the girl got out before darting from the classroom.

"Bye, Aoi," Hikari replied. She glanced at Kensuke. "I'm almost done up here. I'll give you a hand in a sec."

"Thanks, but the guilt would kill me. Don't stay on my account."

"Nonsense. I'm here, so I might as well help out."

She started on the outside working in. They passed by each other and she failed to not check over his efforts.

"I'm impressed," Hikari said, genuinely surprised. "I thought you were just dragging your feet but you've done a really thorough job cleaning the desks. Normally the cleanup crew does the bare minimum."

Kensuke tried to be flattered. "I'm not a germaphobe or anything. I'm just used to getting scolded if I don't perform flawlessly. Which is to say, I'm used to getting scolded."

"Oh? Is Suzuhara a stern task master?"

"Ha. No. My boss, well, bosses, seem to thrive on chewing me out. Sometimes the job isn't worth the paycheck."

He complained without bothering to remember who he was speaking to. Horaki was, if nothing else, a strict status quo girl. She would definitely not approve of an employed student on her watch. He was too tired to backpedal an excuse and prepared for the onslaught.

Hikari surprised him by winking.

"Normally," she said with a conspiratorial grin, "I'd be against an underage classmate getting involved with an afterschool job. But I know how important they can be. Asuka's seems like a real source of stability for her."

"Soryu's job?" How much did Horaki know?

"Yeah. She's always been kind of vague on the specifics, but I know it's a big deal for her. It's got to be rough for someone like her, in this country without any family."

He did recall she appeared to live alone. It made sense to him. He couldn't comprehend what kind of parents managed to raise coolness of such magnitude. Soryu had to be immaculately created somehow, a cosmic focusing of hot awesomeness into an awesomely hot vessel. She acted like it, so he believed it. She acted like she didn't need anyone else, and he believed that, too. So why was her job a "big deal"?

Asuka did not, to put it lightly, enjoy the company of Misato, or anyone else at WILLE. Why was she loyal to it? Why continue to risk her life for people she didn't like?

The adult members of the organization existed in a different world of secret allegiances and hidden agendas, all wrapped up inside the mission to save the city. With Toji, he could easily imagine the deciding factors for his loyalty being financial incentives and his admiration of the Commander. But Soryu?

From school gossip he already knew she was an overseas exchange student from about a year ago, and now Hikari confirmed she was indeed here alone. Without parents or siblings she could have latched onto WILLE as a surrogate family.

But that didn't fit her MO, or her treatment of other WILLE members. Although popular, Asuka did not surround herself with lackeys or go out to party. Her fame was that of a golden idol, praised and admired but never interacted with directly. She appeared not to care either way, and that only contributed to her allure.

Kensuke saw firsthand how strained relations were between her and WILLE, to say nothing of how she treated him and Toji. She kept things, at best, professional. Hers was not the behavior of a lonely girl desperately seeking familial support.

So then, why? Asuka fought for WILLE, risking her life against inhuman abominations, for what? Not fame, not family, not a selfless desire to sacrifice herself for humanity's sake. What remained? Money? Pride? Neither rang true to Kensuke.

"Oh," Hikari said, suddenly embarrassed with his contemplative appearance. "Sorry."

"Huh? What for?"

"I just remembered you're here in this city all by yourself, too, right?"

"Oh, yeah," Kensuke said. He hadn't thought of his father in weeks. He shrugged Horaki's concerns off. "Don't worry about it. Being on my own is pretty cool."

"You don't get lonely?"

"I don't have time to be lonely," he joked. He paused. "Why? Does Soryu get lonely?"

"Um…" Hikari trailed off into discomfort. "I wouldn't say that. She's a very strong person. It's just sometimes it feels like she's waiting for someone." She cleared her throat. "I probably should stop talking now."

They finished cleaning the desks in a comfortable silence and walked out of the school, travelling together until the wide front steps.

"Thanks for the assist," Kensuke said as they parted ways.

"You're welcome," she replied. "And good luck with your job. Just make sure it doesn't interfere with your grades."

"Don't worry about that. I know where my priorities are."

"Good," Hikari said slowly, unsure as to his meaning. "See you tomorrow."

"See you."

He started home. Kensuke stretched and yawned as he walked.

 _Soryu's waiting for someone,_ he thought. It conjured images of a fairy tale damsel in distress, locked away in a high castle tower. She didn't seem the type. Asuka was no Sleeping Beauty, snoozing in patient anticipation. She'd find Prince Charming and beat him up for taking so long. And then make fun of his name.

Horaki must be wrong, Kensuke concluded. For a close acquaintance of Soryu, she sure had odd ideas about her. First dating Suzuhara, now this. Such a passive act as waiting for someone was beneath Asuka's dignity. She was too good for that.

He gazed out at the horizon, busy with clouds stained orange by a low sun. He hoped he could go to sleep early tonight.

/\/\/\/\

The emergency call came just before six pm. The evacuations completed under a setting sun. It was night by the time WILLE deployed in the city, led by Rei to where the next Nephilim would appear. They set up in the dense residential block, Kensuke atop a high apartment building, Rei on a grocery store below, Asuka perched on a split-level house and Toji on the street. Maneuverability was limited, but cover was abundant. VTOLs patrolled the night sky, providing light where needed.

They waited.

"Did we miss it?" Kensuke nervously joked.

 _"_ _It has been longer than usual,"_ Ritsuko commented from headquarters. _"Normally we don't have time to spare between detection and contact. Ayanami, are you sure?"_

"Yes," she said. "It is coming."

They waited.

"The fresh air must be messing with the doll's radar," Asuka said. "That's what you get for letting it outside."

Rei did not respond, calmly staring ahead. Toji was silent. The adults were otherwise occupied, or opted to ignore her. Kensuke frowned.

"Maybe this Nephilim can hide itself somehow," he suggested. "Like a camouflage or something."

A moment of affront drifted over the comm. channel. When Asuka spoke it was low with unwanted offense. "No one asked you, kid."

He knew the cusp of battle was not the place to pick a fight with a teammate. He knew that. "I didn't hear you offering anything constructive."

"What did you say?"

"Can we postpone couple's therapy?" Toji complained.

"Stow it, bootlicker. As for you, Third—"

 _"_ _Stay focused, all of you,"_ Ritsuko said. _"Save the drama for after school."_

"It is after school," Asuka muttered. She hugged herself against the night's chill. "We should have seen _something_ by now. It just can't admit it made a mistake. What good is a broken doll?"

Kensuke took a breath for round two. Rei cut him off.

"It is here," she said.

The Nephilim appeared beyond the crisscrossing highway out of the city. It was a bulky mass of dull grey bands coiled around itself. It did not possess legs, but floated a good yard off the ground. They watched it cross the shore and glide over a wide waterway on the edge of the residential block.

"You seeing this?" Toji asked anyone.

"Flying-type is new to me," Asuka remarked.

"Uh," Kensuke began, peering through his scope, "it isn't exactly flying. It's propelling itself with its AT field." Flashes from the end of its body expanded to the water in measured bursts, so fast it appeared to have two hexagonal legs. "I've got a bad feeling."

"Don't wet your diaper." Asuka addressed the team: "I'll direct it into that school's parking lot to give us some space. Second, flank it's ugly butt. Third, get ready to snipe after we fall back." Her voice faltered only a moment, stepping over disgust to speak directly to Rei: "First, start weakening its field on my mark."

She and Toji moved into position. Kensuke found his target, feeling much calmer having a clear set of orders and a team of backup. The breathless panic of the last battle was a memory. He was sure it had been a fluke. They were together now, stronger than ever, bolstered by weeks of training.

He studied the Nephilim. Outwardly it resembled a limbless torso; there was no head and no visible eye. No way to glean an idea about its abilities or defenses. It moved without haste, and aside from its inhuman appearance looked no more threatening than a misshapen parade float. It fit his impression of his enemies thus far; they were reactionary, only attacking directly when provoked.

It certainly aided the Children as they prepared to strike. Asuka agilely crept over the tightly packed rooftops ahead of their target, stopping over a split-level bedroom balcony. She lined up a shot as the Nephilim passed by below, moving along the wide parking lot, empty except for a few cars.

"Second," she asked, "position?"

"I'm good," Toji said.

"First," Asuka ordered, "now."

Rei's eyes flashed and she held a hand towards the Nephilim. Kensuke watched the AT field waver as it "walked" only to be smothered by a brighter layer on the next step.

 _Multiple AT fields?_ he thought.

Asuka fired. Her volley impacted without effect. The Nephilim continued along the parking lot without hesitating or changing direction. Asuka's second attempt was no different.

"Don't ignore me," she growled. "Clear."

She strafed the rooftops, staying level with her target. She unclipped a grenade from her belt, waited for her blood skill to activate, pulled the pin and hurled it with expert precision at the Nephilim.

It exploded in its path. The side of a nearby home caved in. Asphalt shattered. The Nephilim floated onward.

"No luck?" Toji asked, running towards the battle. He scaled the parking lot fence and leapt off, diving at the Nephilim.

Kensuke watched the AT field flare wide to absorb Toji's punch. Several layers broke but were bolstered from underneath before expanding outward, sending Toji flying back into the fence. It snapped open under the force and he skidded across the ground.

"Ouch."

"First!" Asuka shouted at Rei. "Do your damn job!"

She was. This Nephilim was not like the other Kensuke saw. The previous AT field he witnessed behaved like a sheet of steel; a powerful defense but useless once penetrated. This field was projected at varying lengths in split-second intervals in a conical shape, creating depth and added protection.

Even now he could see as Rei weakened the outermost field layers, only to be replaced a moment later by a fresh one. The process was too fast for her ability to keep ahead. He relayed his findings.

"So it's useless after all," Asuka grumbled.

 _"_ _Maybe not,"_ Ritsuko said. _"Aida, if you can see where the AT field is weakened, you might be able to break through with enough force."_

The team repositioned, allowing the Nephilim deeper into the city as Toji and Asuka trailed after it. Kensuke was now targeting its rear, Rei was between them. Concentrating enough strength on a single point could overwhelm the AT field pattern and give him a window for a shot.

"Okay," Kensuke said as he watched the Nephilim glide through a public park. "Ready."

They attacked. Rei weakened the field from behind and Toji rushed in to strike. He fell back before retaliation and Asuka opened fire on the point of his attack, using the abundant park trees for cover.

Kensuke saw the compromised AT field waver and bend, trying to regain composition. He fired and pierced it at its weakest point. The round connected, and ricocheted harmlessly off the bands wrapping the Nephilim's body.

"It didn't work," he muttered in disbelief.

The AT field retracted close to the Nephilim to gather strength then burst outward like a battering ram, gouging the earth and uprooting entire trees on its way towards Asuka and Toji. He used his blood skill to mitigate damage and shielded her as they were flung across the park. They landed in a bruised heap. The Nephilim continued on.

"Now what?" Kensuke asked. He spied the train depot within sight of the park. Beyond laid WILLE.

"Now we try again," Asuka said, shoving Toji away as she stood. "We keep trying until we kill it."

 _"_ _We cannot allow the Nephilim to invade headquarters,"_ Misato spoke.

"Tell me something I don't know. Send down a new rifle and we'll restart."

 _"_ _Negative. The UN is mobilizing. We're out of time."_

VTOLs swept from the sky, bathing the park in light and sound.

 _"_ _Regroup at base,"_ Misato said. Through the static of the comm. and roar of an approaching VTOL Kensuke thought he heard a note of resignation in the Commander's determined voice. _"We have no other choice."_

"No!" Asuka shouted. "I can beat it!"

 _"_ _You have your orders."_

They fell back to WILLE's aboveground front, a large warehouse on a wide plot of fenced land outside the metropolis. Kensuke and Rei were dropped on the warehouse roof, Asuka and Toji jumped out of their VTOL onto the grass. Kensuke scrambled to reset his sniping position, aided by telemetry from Hyuga and Rei.

Before the warehouse was a long tarmac lined with what looked like manholes. Two opened and long poles extended upwards before unfolding into shields. Asuka and Toji took up defensive positions behind either. Another port opened to deliver a weapon restock to Asuka.

Kensuke watched her activate blood skill holding a sleek rifle. "I don't know how attacking it here will be any different than before," he said.

The Nephilim appeared on the black horizon, free from the city confines. It crossed into WILLE territory, its AT field bending and trampling the barbwire fence surrounding its façade. The Children held their positions. Kensuke lined up a shot, awaiting the order to fire.

 _"_ _Ayanami?"_ Misato asked.

Her eyes flashed, attempting to weaken the AT field again. "It is no use. It is too strong."

The Nephilim approached. Kensuke felt sweat creep down his face.

 _"_ _I'm authorizing use of 02,"_ the Commander announced. The objections were quick and short-lived from Ritsuko. _"Send him up."_

Over the comm., Asuka swore in another language.

The warehouse's shuttered door opened. It was empty inside save for a heavy transport elevator. Klaxons sounded as the lift jolted into operation. It appeared hauling a thin metal capsule amid a tangle of wires and medical machinery.

Toji was able to lug the apparatus outside onto the middle of the tarmac. The capsule front slid open. Viscous orange liquid spilled out. Inside was a cocoon of pulsating wires and tubes. Connected to the network was a thin boy missing his right arm in patchwork body armor. His head was covered with a strange white mask.

Kensuke watched Toji pull the boy free. The medical web stretched and tore apart, trailing off the boy like ribbons. He hung limp.

Toji set the boy on the tarmac. He held his head, and forced the mask from his face. Toji sprinted away back to cover.

The atmosphere changed. The air was heavy with electric stress. A dense shimmer drew around the one-armed boy. Small, tentative bands of purple light sparked to life and crept from his body, reaching towards the clouds. The bands shivered as they widened and grew together, engulfing the boy completely. His body unrelaxed. He lurched to the side. He rose to a knee. Red eyes opened.

Kensuke felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He sweated. The stench of scorched ozone permeated the air. His ears ached from the roar of released power.

"Who is that?" Kensuke breathed.

The bands of energy converged and became a single shuddering force flowing without restraint. He was a lighted wick burning the sky.

"That's Shinji Ikari," Toji said. "The Second Nephilim."

/\/\/\/\

The tarmac shattered beneath his feet as he stood. The remnants of the capsule's medical netting burned away from him. The world around Shinji Ikari was erratic purple energy, a violent whirling maelstrom of thunderous pressure.

The Nephilim approached without pause, crossing onto the tarmac. Shinji launched himself at it and clawed through several layers of the AT field. The field gathered at the point of attack to repel Shinji, sending him tumbling backwards.

The bands wrapping the Nephilim loosened, then unfurled onto the ground into two long strips. Its body was stretched tight, dark except for a bone-white protuberance on its midsection that partially covered a red eye.

The strips snapped into rigidity and shot towards Shinji. He swatted one away, cutting his hand. The second gouged his side open. His blood burnt away before hitting the ground. The wound was cauterized and melted shut. The energy swell around him trembled and redoubled.

He grabbed one strip and bit into it, tearing it off. It bled and was consumed by purple fire. The other strip recoiled and made another attempt to attack. Shinji clawed the air and shredded it before contact. The Nephilim fell back and Shinji pounced.

He landed hard. The Nephilim's skin cracked and discolored. Shinji's proximity was enough to tear through the AT field now. He punched into muscle and bone and organ. He punched the bone-like cover on its midsection and pushed down, breaking it open to reveal the soft pulp of the red eye. The eye bulged and split apart. Blood streamed into the air. The ground cratered from the force. The Nephilim collapsed inward and abandoned any semblance of shape as it died and was torn asunder by a storm of power.

"Send me the AN tranq kit," Asuka said.

Another manhole opened on what remained of the tarmac and a tube rose from the ground. Its casing retracted to reveal a slim, delicate-looking rifle with a long barrel beside a metal box. Asuka attached the box to her belt, and lifted the rifle free. Her blood skill activated. She ducked towards the maelstrom engulfing Shinji.

Her initial volley of tranquilizer darts burnt away without touching him.

"First," Asuka addressed Rei, "direct the flow away from his torso." She lined up another shot. "Give me an opening."

Her voice was taut, wire-thin with controlled tension. Her movements were quick and exact, ducking in and out of range of the growing chaos around Shinji.

On the rooftop, Rei trembled and sank to a knee as she tried to siphon more power. The plume of energy around Shinji bent to her, but refused to be contained. A thin bead of blood rolled down her face from her left ear. She was unable to draw all the energy at once, and settled on a gradual approach, siphoning it in measured bursts.

It opened split-second opportunities for Asuka to attack. She only needed a moment to gauge the rhythm and exploit it with the tranquilizer rifle. Two of the heavily cased darts managed to make contact.

Shinji staggered in drowsy ineptitude. His power wavered. The ground skewed wildly under his feet.

He fell.

Asuka caught him, carefully lowering his body to the ground. She cradled his head on her lap. Her face was a warm softness. Purple tendrils of energy still crackled to life around them, singeing her hair and burning her armor.

She leisurely brushed his dark hair from his red eyes. From the box on her belt she removed a strange white mask. It opened; the inside was branded with unnatural lights, arranged in pulsating columns. She eased it over his head, smiling at his heavy eyes. Silence hung between them.

The mask slid shut. His body shuddered, and sagged, and was still. The energy flowing from him was a trickle.

Asuka abruptly rose and dropped Shinji. A curl of energy erupted as he struck the ground.

"Someone get this skinny idiot out of my sight."

She hobbled away in her charred armor over the shattered tarmac towards base. A recovery crew rose on the service elevator in hazmat suits. They rushed past Asuka, wheeling a new sealing capsule towards Shinji.

The crew gingerly loaded him into it. Rei was at the warehouse roof's edge, siphoning the last struggling wisps of energy from Shinji, holding a hand towards his unconscious form. She ignored the blood creeping from her ears and nose. The capsule front slid shut, sealing him away.

Kensuke watched Rei sag without relief. He glanced around the battlefield. The shields were melted slag. The tarmac was in ruins. Deep craters scored the earth around it, along with broad swathes of burnt grass and soil. Nothing remained of the enemy Nephilim. He looked on as the recovery crew wheeled the new capsule back towards the elevator. No part of Shinji was visible.

Kensuke threw his hands into the air.

 _How am I supposed to compete with that?_

/\/\/\/\

End of chapter 8

Author notes: We're past the halfway mark. I planned thirteen chapters total.

Next chapter: I bloat this ballooning cast even more.


	9. Children

Covenant Red

Chapter 9: Children

Disclaimer: I do not own Evangelion.

/\/\/\/\

It was classified. Kensuke didn't expect any less from WILLE. The one-armed boy in the metal coffin that tore apart an AT field with his bare hand was beyond his pay grade. Just like the existence of Ayanami had been prior to a few weeks ago. Withholding information was not the same as lying, Kensuke knew. He asked if there were any more teenagers in their basement. They told him no.

The debriefing after the last battle was sparsely attended by adults as WILLE juggled priorities between the UN and local governing bodies following a near-breach. Toji sat beside him but was uncommunicative. Rei was absent for medical attention. The Commander stood at the front of the conference room. Behind her the main screen displayed the ID card picture of a boy with the same red eyes as Ayanami. Shinji Ikari, the Second Nephilim, whose allegiance WILLE somehow secured, whose power was enough to rip open an enemy the rest of them couldn't scratch.

His blood skill translated physical damage received into raw offensive force. Unlike Asuka's or Toji's, there was no off switch. His power was uncontrollable, and cumulative; any bump or scrape he suffered manifested without consent.

Still, Kensuke had argued, they eventually managed to subdue him. Why not employ this trump card for every Nephilim that attacked? Lure them in and let him make a mess of the lawn, collateral damage be damned.

The drug cocktail they kept Shinji comatose and under control with was, at best, unhealthy, Misato explained. It would kill a normal human. And the dosage needed to keep him asleep continually ticked upwards. The long-term effects could include organ failure or brain damage.

"Right now," the Commander had said, "this is all we can do."

Asuka skipped the debriefing session. Kensuke hadn't seen her in days, ever since she tenderly cradled that Shinji guy's face on her lap. He remained too astonished to be jealous. He never imagined seeing Soryu look so delicate. She was supposed to be the tough-as-nails, coolly above it all, brilliant badass. She wasn't supposed to fall under the sway of some monster-killing pretty boy from an action anime.

Kensuke sat on his couch playing video games offline. The computer AI wilted under his skill, honed over countless hours, bordering on muscle memory as he evaded enemy attacks and punished a split-second opening to achieve a kill. He played without enthusiasm, vaguely trying to recall the feel of competing against Asuka weeks ago.

He remembered all his varied avenues of attack being effortlessly swept aside, tossed into the garbage to be forgotten. No matter what he tried he met unwavering, calm resistance. Nothing reached her.

He turned the game off. His apartment felt stifling so he ventured into the city. Attempts to contact Toji went immediately to voice mail. Kensuke realized he still didn't know his friend's exact address.

It was sunny and clear, warm without demanding sweat. He passed by video arcades without stopping. He wanted some manner of actual human reality, nothing digitized or cinematic. And nothing to do with bloody superpowers.

He meandered through Sunday traffic to a wide clearing in the city center, dotted with parks and public recreational facilities. Vendors sat in stalls or roamed on foot to lure in the financially irresponsible with hastily prepared food and cheap souvenirs.

Kensuke passed by a man hocking balloons and stopped. He watched a street away as Toji was accosted by a young girl. A sour mood passed between them, culminating in Toji digging into his pocket to fish out his wallet. Several bills later the girl left. Kensuke snuck behind him.

"Did you just get extorted by a little girl?"

Toji turned in surprise, then frowned. "Of course not. I know that brat."

"Um, how?" Kensuke asked when no explanation came.

"She's the class rep's kid sister. Nozomi, uh, Horaki."

"… Okay. That still does not explain how you know her."

He waved it away. "Don't worry about it, alright? Listen, I got some stuff to take care of so—"

"Big Bro!" someone called out.

Toji strangled a cry in his throat. Kensuke followed his line of sight to who just addressed him. He gaped.

 _"You have a little sister?"_ he demanded.

The girl running towards them was pre-adolescent, carried by the effortless buoyancy of youthful enthusiasm. Thin limbs poked out of a print sundress, a spindly arm keeping an oversized hat atop her head of long, unrestrained hair. Her smile was unforced, tempered only by an underlying touch of spritely impishness.

"Hey, she's cute," Kensuke said in a completely nonthreatening, though surprised, way.

 _"You stay the fuck away from her."_

Toji's voice was murder. Kensuke began to sweat.

The girl reached them and planted her feet, fists on hips. "Big Bro! You didn't give Nozomi enough money. Now she thinks we're poor." She glanced at Kensuke, not afraid of him in the least in the presence of her brother. "Who's that?"

"This is Kensuke, from school. He was just leaving."

"Nonsense!" the girl said, suddenly cheery. "It's so rare for me to meet people that know you. He can't leave now." She brushed his concerns away. "Big Bro, go help Nozomi with the food. And be sure to get the good drinks, not the ones loaded with ice."

He was suddenly powerless and she shooed him away. Toji left, but his eyes remained on Kensuke as he walked: _I'm watching you._

Like he'd try anything in public with a girl. A cute girl. A cute, underage girl with an overprotective big brother who could literally punch his head off his body.

Toji disappeared into the crowd. The girl began walking, beckoning him to follow with one finger over her shoulder.

"I'm Sakura," she introduced herself as they moved. "What about you? You got a last name?"

"Aida."

"Okay. Good to know, Kensuke."

"Wait a minute…"

"If Toji can call you that, so can I."

"I'll stick to calling you Suzuhara," he said. Just to be safe.

"Well, duh," she replied, giving him a look. "I don't even know you."

 _Freakin' kid,_ Kensuke thought.

They sat on a bench overlooking the park. It was crowded out, full of families and children abusing the various public courts and jungle gyms. Kensuke remained on edge after Toji's departure, sure everyone was eyeing him, wondering what kind of nefarious crimes he was planning on committing with this cute young girl leading him around. He made a show of craning his neck, looking for Toji, hoping the act communicated he was waiting for someone.

"So," Sakura began, "you work with my brother, don't you?"

"Yeah. Good guess."

"Well, you're not athletic, so you can't be on the basketball team. And you don't look like the kind of guy he'd normally be friends with."

Kensuke frowned. "Good guess."

She eyed him, struggling not to be disappointed. "I guess they hire all types. You know, out of necessity. It's a given in his line of work."

"He told you what he does?"

"Of course. My brother wouldn't lie to me," she stated. "He's a courier."

"A courier."

"It's a demanding job, and dangerous in this city, but he's the kind of guy to help provide for his family no matter what."

"A courier," Kensuke said again. It was as good a cover story as any. Erratic hours and periodic injuries could both be explained away. This was, as Sakura said, a dangerous city.

"Yes," she said, hinting at annoyance. "So what do you do for them?"

"Oh, my job? Uh, I support your brother when he's working."

Sakura looked let down. "You're like what, IT or a dispatcher?"

"Dispatcher." In one meaning of the word.

"I guess they do need all the help they can get." She watched a small dog trot past on a leash. "You must know Ms. Soryu, too."

"I thought I did," he muttered.

She ignored him. "I've only met her a few times," which sounded like a badge of highest honor, "and even then, never in a social setting. But it's impossible to forget her. She's smart and talented and cool and pretty like an idol."

Technically that was all true, Kensuke thought, but hearing a teenybopper fangirl gush it out was embarrassing. He liked his dizzyingly high regard kept internal.

"And one day, she'll be my stern yet loving sister."

"Uh, what?" he asked.

"It's a difficult task before me," Sakura lamented with a grin. "Reshaping my brother into a man worthy of Ms. Soryu. He's clueless about women, but not in a cute way. She deserves better than what he can offer right now. So that's where you come in. I need an outside observer. Tell me how my brother gets along with Ms. Soryu so I can help him improve."

"Oh." Being reduced to a walking commodity by a girl he just met for outlandish purposes wasn't entirely alien to him. _She'd fit in at WILLE._ "They have a… solid working relationship."

"At least that's a start. Toji _is_ very no-nonsense when it comes to his job, so it makes sense he can work alongside someone as mature and worldly as Ms. Soryu. But," she declared, "it's not enough. The status quo we're stuck in must end. Progress must be made."

"Good luck," Kensuke told her. He turned glum. "I think Soryu has her sights on someone already."

 _"Who?"_ Her voice shed the precocious affectation of an earnestly mischievous child. She became deadly serious, her sharp eyes pinning him to his seat. "Who would _dare?_ "

Irrational fear welled inside him. He was on the verge of explaining how a one-armed monster killer seemed fated to Asuka when Toji returned with drinks, food, and Horaki's sister in tow. Without hesitation, Sakura transitioned from murderous authoritarian to sunny kid sister. She hopped off the bench and was at her brother's side.

"Big bro! Let's eat! Let's eat!" Her eyes lingered over Kensuke for but a moment _: Snitches earn stitches._

And Toji seemed so reasonable about most things, he thought. Obviously, this kid needed more supervision. What were Mr. and Mrs. Suzuhara doing?

"Is your friend joining us, too?" Sakura asked her brother.

"Us?" He looked at the younger Horaki. "Oh. She's staying?"

Nozomi squinted at him. "Of course I am."

Kensuke rose from the bench with the hopes of abandoning his friend. "Wish I could hang around. I actually have some stuff to—"

"Nonsense," Sakura gushed. "I insist you stay and eat. It'll be fun." She remained blissfully inattentive of her brother's deteriorating mood.

The group found a public picnic table and sat to dine. Sakura made light small talk, carefully steering the conversation into areas that could involve Ms. Soryu. Kensuke felt obligated to follow along, more out of fear than civility. Nozomi was scouting the area, not paying attention. Toji ate glaring at the table.

"... So then I was waiting outside the school gates for like, twenty minutes," Sakura was saying, relating a tale of lighthearted neglect about her big brother to Kensuke. "He told me he'd be there right away but an emergency call from work came in. I probably would have waited all night but then Ms. Soryu happened across me and… Oh my gosh! Wasn't that the first time I met Ms. Soryu?"

She spoke with an air of offhanded surprise. Kensuke called bullshit. Mentally. This girl had a terrifying one-track mind.

"She is just so responsible, you know? Everyone else was ignoring me but she spotted me right away and knew something was wrong."

"'Cause I asked her to," Toji muttered.

"She is just so great."

"Soryu," Nozomi said. "The sour girl all the dumb boys drool over?"

"She _is_ very popular. Isn't your sister friends with her? How lucky."

"You would think that. They don't hang out much anymore. Being perfect must take up so much of her free time."

"Nozomi!" someone scolded.

Kensuke looked up and had to do a double take. Hikari was in a pastel dress and wore her hair down, freed from her usual studious ponytail.

 _Not bad, Class Rep,_ he thought absently.

"Nozomi," she said again, "mind your manners. You know Asuka is very busy."

Nozomi ignored the reprimand. "You're finally here," she complained. "What took you so long?"

"I told you I had homework." Hikari tried to keep the conversation private, civil even against impossible odds. Her eyes kept glancing in Toji's direction. "Th-This is why you called me out here? A lunch with the Suzuharas?"

"Yeah," Sakura said, her voice gaining a sliver of the menace she employed earlier with Kensuke, "why did you invite your sister?" She suddenly smiled brilliantly. "Not that I'm opposed, of course. Ms. Horaki, please, join us."

"I-I don't want to intrude." The only available seat was across from Toji, who remained grimly focused on his sandwich.

"Oh, don't be silly. We were just talking about Ms. Soryu. You must know her better than we do. Please, tell us how she's doing."

"God," Nozomi moaned, "I'm tired of talking about that ginger witch."

 _"What did you call her?"_

"Nozomi, please, we're in public—"

"Take it back."

"Make me."

"Nozomi—"

The meal dissolved. Toji stood up, and made Kensuke follow with a look.

"We got to bail," he explained to the girls. "A call came in from HQ."

Sakura looked stricken. "You promised no work today! And I didn't hear your phone ring."

Both she and Toji stared Kensuke down. Before him he saw two diverging paths, both leading to unavoidable harm. Sakura's wrath may well be more dangerous but he had to work with Toji.

"Yeah," he said, sounding as sincerely apologetic as he could, while knowing it would be pointless. "We had our cells on vibrate. I got a call, too." Execution loomed. "Um, sorry?"

Hikari looked both crestfallen and relieved in the span of a second before returning to neutral civility. "If it's for work, I guess you have to go…"

Sakura shook in teary rage. "Big Bro, you… stupid ass."

She ran off into the park. Nozomi spent a moment to glare at Toji before following after. He rubbed his eyes shut.

"Class Rep," he said sounding worn, "could you see my sister home safely?"

"Of course," she replied. This appeared to be a familiar conversation.

"Thanks." Toji ignored the mess left on the picnic table and made to leave. "Sorry you had to come all the way out here for nothing."

"I'm used to it."

The calm misery she tried to bury struck Kensuke. He felt on the verge of some great revelation as he watched her gather the remains of the lunch into a plastic bag for proper disposal. He hesitated in assisting.

"Yo," Toji called to him, "let's go."

"Oh. Right."

He caught up with his friend. He glanced back at Hikari as she drifted towards the direction her sister ran off to. The moment passed and whatever insight tickled him vanished. He followed Toji with a vague sense of regret.

/\/\/\/\

Kensuke found himself back in his apartment playing video games on his cheap couch. Toji made a beeline for it after leaving the park, and seemed determined to ignore everything that just transpired. Kensuke was amusedly confused at his behavior. While Toji was a physically imposing guy, even without his blood skill, when he got angry it wasn't a call to head for the hills. He seemed unable to properly express annoyance, bottling it up and quietly stewing in his own frustrated incapacity.

Instead of giving him some breathing room Kensuke tried to lighten the mood.

"So, we didn't really get a call from HQ?" he joked.

Toji's scowl deepened. "No."

"Well, it was getting crowded. Sometimes the city feels too small, you know?" He did not get a response.

They played another round in silence. During a loading screen, Kensuke finally asked the question. "Why didn't you tell me you had a little sister?"

"It ain't any of your business," Toji said.

"I thought we were friends."

"That has nothing to do with it. And it's not like you've spilled your guts about your family."

He frowned. "I live alone. I'm not the one hiding siblings in the apartment building we share."

"I keep my private life private, and my professional life professional," Toji stated. "The two cannot and will not coexist if I can help it."

"So, what are we doing?" Kensuke asked, gesturing around them. "Do you hang out with me as part of your job description?"

"No, I—" He glanced at Kensuke who grinned lightly. "Look _, friend_ , just because we work together doesn't mean it ends at that. But we don't goof off during a sortie, right? I know what to do on and off the clock. This, right now, is off the clock. Me time. And I chose to spend it with you, not because I was ordered to."

"Thanks, but your attempts at flattery don't redirect attention from my original question."

He sighed heavily. "The only reason I agreed to join up was to protect my sister. And the less she knows about WILLE, and about the people in WILLE, the better. I want her far away from it all. If I thought sending her out of the city was safer, I would. At least here I can keep her out of trouble."

Kensuke smiled. Even Toji's love was stubborn. "I'll accept your terrible explanation. I think you just wanted to keep her to yourself." He briefly debated how to phrase it. "She seems like a lot of fun." Fun like dental surgery.

"I know she's cute but she's only twelve, man! You can't have her!"

Kensuke was appropriately appalled. "Dude! Calm down! That was never my intention. I just meant she makes a good first impression."

Toji's grip on his controller was white-knuckle. "Not helping your case."

" _Dude!_ Seriously! I wasn't—" Inspiration struck in the form of their shared admiration for the Commander. "You know I, uh, like older girls."

"… Yeah, you do."

They both tried to relax. They played.

"So," Toji grumbled, "what were you two talking about while I was gone?"

"Nothing much." He sensed on an existential level that exposing Sakura's plans for her brother would not be a smart idea. "She talked about you most of the time. And your job as a 'courier.' Nice cover."

"I guess. I'm away so much I had to think of something. WILLE is fond of saying we're protecting mankind but it's at the cost of the people who work there. I've barely seen Sakura this past year. She's always bugging me to go out and do something fun in the city. After the last attack I felt like we should. I forget not everybody can."

Questions sprang to Kensuke's mind. Were Toji and Shinji friends? Did he regret his fate, locked in a capsule in a coma?

Toji continued on. "So I let her drag me around." His mood soured again. "Then the Horaki brat found us and called her sister for some reason. Damn. Way to ruin my day. Why is Sakura friends with her to begin with? At least she's still ignoring boys."

He could only imagine the horrors awaiting Ms. Suzuhara's suitors. "But you were able to spend a little while with your sister, right?"

"I want to make the most of this time I have with her. She won't be a kid forever. I won't have this opportunity again. Especially since I'm never having kids of my own."

Kensuke eyed him. He always figured Toji's concept of the future only existed as far as where his next meal was coming from. That kind of proclamation was abnormal.

"Isn't it a bit premature to decide that?" he asked. "You might want a family some day, right?"

"Well, I guess adoption is an option, but it isn't the same."

"… Okay. I'll bite. Why not have kids of your own?"

Toji's face flat-lined. "Oh, geez," he said after a moment. "Didn't the Doc or Commander tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

"We can't have kids. None of the Children can."

Kensuke's brow furrowed, trying to understand. "You mean because of our blood?"

"No." Toji slumped. He faced his friend. "It's part of what working for WILLE means. They sterilized us."

/\/\/\/\

"The picture of the tragic hero."

Kensuke turned. He was on the school roof, leaning on the fence and gazing out over the sunset orange bathing the surrounding grounds. He heard the final bell some time ago, after wandering up here alone for lunch and deciding not to return to class.

Asuka approached him from the stairwell door. "Except you're not a hero. Or have a reason to be tragic. Now get your rear in gear. We're due at HQ for group training, Third."

He turned away from her. "So?"

"So quit acting like a drama queen. Suzuhara told me why you're bent out of shape but he's too dense to tell you what you need to hear. So I will: Get over it."

"Get over it?" He frowned. "So you're going to defend WILLE's mass sterilization, too?"

"No. I'm defending common sense." She shook her head. "Why are you so upset? Who wants kids, anyways? I wasn't aware you were married and wanted to start a family."

"The point isn't that I wanted kids now, or maybe ever. They didn't have permission to do that to me."

"It's part of what signing up with WILLE means, genius. Your time, your blood skill, and yes, your body doesn't belong to you anymore. I had hoped that message got through your thick skull."

"Doesn't it bother you?" he asked. "That WILLE can arbitrarily make those kinds of decisions about us without any debate?"

"Oh, _God,_ " Asuka groaned. "Suzuhara did a crappy job explaining this to you, didn't he? Shocking." She crossed her arms. "Consider the position we're in for half a second, lame-brain. We're running around with Nephilim blood in our veins, remember? What do you think would happen if we started propagating our genes? More Nephilim, and more civie casualties. They did what they had to do."

"Then why aren't we confined to HQ?" Kensuke posed, trying to hold onto his outrage. "Why let us out at all?"

"Because Katsuragi is too soft for her job," she said. "Listen. Suzuhara and I sold our bodies to NERV."

 _NERV?_ he thought. _What is she talking about?_

"You're in the same boat. The Commander is just picking up the pieces as best she can. Not to say she's doing a good job, but it's no reason for you to sulk like a bitter spinster. I didn't spend all that time training your ungrateful butt for you to throw it away like last night's leftovers. No buts. I don't care if you're pissed. We have a job to do. Man up, Aida."

He was still pissed. But the opportunity to appear manly in Soryu's eyes was too tempting to ignore. Even if he hated the WILLE higher-ups, he and Asuka could commiserate side by side.

And the first inkling of guilt was beginning to form over reading Toji the riot act yesterday after he told him. It wasn't his fault, but the absolute loyalty Toji displayed was infuriating. At least Asuka offered the semblance of an explanation.

It was also the first time he saw her in nearly a week. Any injuries were forgotten and she appeared no different than before. She stood before him, glowering, hurling insults and knowing better than him. She was back.

The unwanted memory of her tender face hovering above Ikari's resurfaced.

Asuka looked ready to tear her hair out. "We are soldiers. If we bitch and moan and don't do our jobs, _people will die_. Now quit moping and—"

"No, no," he interrupted. Kensuke buried his dejection. "I get it, okay? Really. Just… I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Save it. We're due at HQ, remember?" She turned to leave. "Bad enough I have to clean up Suzuhara's mess, now I'm demoted to truant officer."

He followed Asuka to the tram station. They boarded and sat across from each other. The light from the windows abruptly changed from sunset orange to harsh artificial fluorescence as they slid underground. Kensuke watched his feet.

"Soryu," he finally began. "It's good to see you again. I'm glad you're not hurt or anything. That last battle was crazy. We couldn't do anything to the Nephilim but Ikari tore it apart so easily. Good thing he's on our side, huh?"

He made himself stop rambling. Hikari's words came back to him: _She's waiting for someone._

"About Ikari… I guess you, uh, know him pretty well? It must be hard. You can only see him in crisis situations, and then only for a moment. You can't talk or hang out or anything. You can't…"

Be with the person you like.

 _Like I am right now._ He suddenly felt ashamed.

Asuka was silent. Kensuke risked a look up at her.

Her eyes were directed out the window. Small earphones hung from her ears, connected to her cell. Tinny whispers of music drifted his way. He waved to get her attention and opened his mouth to speak again.

He paused. While there was nowhere for her to escape his questions, neither was there anywhere for him to hide from her.

He reflected on his course of action. Maybe it was for the best she didn't hear all that. He made a contrite expression and told her never mind. She rolled her eyes back to the window.

The tram arrived at WILLE. They entered and made their way to the changing rooms. Toji was leaning against the wall by the men's entrance. He was gloomy and nervous. He saw them approach, and straightened.

"Kensuke, man, listen. I'm sorry about the—"

He waved him off. "Forget it. I mean, it wasn't your fault. I shouldn't have killed the messenger. Sorry I blew up at you like that."

Toji relaxed into a loose grin. "You really did. Give me a Nephilim any day compared to that."

"Boys are so simple," Asuka snorted.

"Yeah. Girls would drag that crap out for years of emotional warfare."

"I'm sure Katsuragi would like to hear you say that."

"The Commander is a woman," Toji explained. "Not a girl."

The trap was set but Asuka refused the bait. "And didn't that woman warn you against being late for training again just last week?"

That was enough for him to abandon the argument and duck into the men's locker room to change. Asuka headed to the women's lockers, but stopped.

"Oh, yeah," she said, like she just remembered Kensuke existed. "You wanted to say something to me? Spit it out. I won't have you distracted during training."

"Right." He squeezed his brain for a topic that wouldn't make him sound like a complete imbecile. "Did you know Toji has a kid sister?" _Of course she knows that._

"Of course I know that. The little suck-up is proof having kids is a dumb idea to begin with. See? You should be thanking WILLE for taking care of your biological detriment. Not like you'll ever get a girlfriend anyway."

She entered the female locker room.

Kensuke sagged, alone in the hall.

 _That… wasn't very cool._

/\/\/\/\

End of chapter 9

Author notes: I find Toji being unhealthily worried over his sister more amusing than it probably is.

Next chapter: Long-ish shadows.


	10. Faith

Covenant Red

Chapter 10: Faith

Disclaimer: I do not own Evangelion.

/\/\/\/\

It arrived before dawn, beneath a ceiling of dusty clouds. Past waters and hills, into the valley of steel and glass towers that crowded the sky. Isolated bursts of rain lingered to become a steady, unrelenting deluge. Weather and terrain were neutral obstacles, temporary hindrances lengthening the placid inevitability.

Kensuke peered at the Nephilim through his scope as it wobbled towards a deserted intersection. The teardrop-shaped creature was the size of a small couch, covered in haphazard streaks of rusty metallic green.

 _Another weird-looking one_ , he thought. "I've got a clear shot."

"No reason to give up your position yet," Asuka said back. "We'll hit this rotten egg first; be ready to back us up. What about it's AT field?"

She and Toji were on either side of the intersection behind cover. Rei was out of sight around a nearby corner.

"No field, no eye," Kensuke reported from his high-rise perch. "It doesn't seem very threatening."

"Such things change quickly."

The Nephilim moved past her into an open expanse of slick asphalt and Asuka fired. The bullets passed through it, peppering the face of a building. The Nephilim's shape lost composure and slunk to the street, expanding outward in all directions dozens of yards, encompassing both Asuka and Toji.

"A shadow?"

From its edges jagged pillars rose and connected overhead into a black dome, trapping the two Children inside.

"Are you okay?" Kensuke panicked. The Nephilim's AT field appeared around the dome in a pulsating geometric canopy, vivid against the rain.

"Terrific," Asuka replied. "Zero visibility in here. At least it's blocking the storm."

"I'd punch us out," Toji said, "but I can't see a thing."

"Don't go wandering off. Stay where you are and I'll find you."

The AT field canopy abruptly stopped pulsing outward, inverting to inward. The dome began shrinking. Kensuke peered at the street left in its wake; nothing remained. It was disintegrating the asphalt.

 _A weaponized AT field?_ "Guys?" he began. "Problem."

The eye opened inside the dome, illuminating Asuka and Toji in deep red. She fired at it, the bullets ricocheting wildly back at them.

"Don't do that again," he said.

"Noted."

"Don't touch the walls," Kensuke warned. The dome was growing smaller at a steady pace. "It looks like its eating the street." He scoured the outside again in desperation. "I still don't see the eye. What do I do?"

Asuka crossed her arms in thought. Everyone waited. The dome shrank.

"Running out of time," she muttered. She unsheathed the combat knife on the small of her back and tossed it to Toji.

After a fumble he grasped it. "Careful!"

"Your blood skill might generate enough force to cut through the AT field to the eye," she told him. "Aida can't see it, so if he snipes he might hit us. First," she addressed Ayanami, "start weakening the field."

Rei had approached the Nephilim from her cover, standing alone at the edge of what remained of the street intersection.

"Understood," she said, and held a hand toward the dome.

Toji planted his feet and thrust the knife at the eye. The AT field flared against it, preventing contact. He frowned.

"I'm at the limit here," he said. The knife strained in his grip and he was forced backwards a step. The dome closed in. "Any other ideas?"

Kensuke watched from above as the inverted field coalesced at a single point, and told them. "It must be where you're attacking the eye."

He held his tongue. Taking a near-blind shot with Asuka and Toji in such close proximity was too risky. He couldn't ask them to place that kind of trust in his abilities. The rifle WILLE issued him was modified against Nephilim physiology and AT fields. It would, at the least, cause irreparable damage to a human.

"Aim high," Toji told him.

"We're dead if you do nothing," Asuka agreed. "The Second will keep the field focused on our side of things. Now, hurry up and finish it off."

After a breath and a prayer Kensuke fired. The shot holed the top half of the Nephilim eye. The black dome rippled twice and dissolved into the rain, revealing the two unscathed Children teetering on a three yard wide circle of street. Around and beneath it was cleaved away, laying bare cross sections of underground pipes and sewers.

"Target eliminated," Rei reported back to HQ.

 _"Good job,"_ Aoba told everyone. _"Head home."_

Through his scope Kensuke saw Toji and Asuka leap back to the untouched street. Toji offered a thumbs-up in his direction. A VTOL approached, floodlights slashing through the rain. Kensuke stood and waved, waiting for retrieval.

He allowed himself to relax. The Nephilim was dead, having barely made any progress into the city. WILLE's aboveground front was nowhere in sight. There was no reason to retreat back to it, no reason to wake up Ikari, no reason to see Soryu act strangely with him. There was no reason to ask more questions he wasn't getting answers to.

It was just another day.

/\/\/\/\

It still rained. The Children huddled beneath a tarp in WILLE's provisional camp at the edge of the battlefield waiting for the van back to the trams and HQ. Asuka slid across the middle two seats when it arrived, getting comfortable.

"Still?" Toji complained.

"Still. It's bad enough I have to ride in this cramped junker with your gross, sweaty butt. I am not letting you touch me. Get in the back."

With a long-suffering sigh he got in the back. Kensuke climbed in beside him without being told.

"What about Ayanami?" he asked, pointing to the girl still standing outside. Due to the heavy armor on the van, only two seats were usable on both middle and back rows. "You can't call her butt gross or sweaty."

"The hell I can't. You don't have to share a locker room with it. Then again, I bet you'd like that. Pervert."

This was delivered not with her usual, carelessly laid-back abuse. She sounded truly disgusted.

"No, I wouldn't!" Kensuke objected. "And you're changing the subject!"

"Not my fault you're easily distracted. I really don't get the whole puppet attraction thing. You're such a deviant."

"I'm not— It is not like that."

"Give it a rest, you two," Toji sighed.

"Just let her in the van," Kensuke tried. He glanced at Rei. "It's still raining pretty hard. And, I mean, we're all heading to the same place so it makes sense to travel together."

Asuka did not move. "It's not sitting next to me," she stated. "It'll just have to walk back to its cell."

Kensuke looked at Toji for support, who ignored him. "Fine. She can have my seat. I'll wait for another van."

He made to leave. Asuka jammed a foot against the window to block him in. "No, you won't. Humans take priority. This Turing Test reject can wait. Not like it did anything important."

"Soryu—"

"Shut _up._ Why you continue to defend it defies comprehension—"

The armored guard in the van's passenger seat got out. He eyed the teenagers. "Call from the Commander. Get back to HQ." He gestured to Rei, who had absorbed the entire exchange with an idle apathy. "Get in the front."

She watched him move back, one hand planted on his sidearm, before calmly entering the van.

The doors shut. The vehicle rumbled to life. Asuka relaxed.

"Crank up the heat, will you?" she called to the driver. "Nephilim usually pick nice, sunny days to bother us." She let her foot sway, hitting the passenger seat's back just enough for Rei to feel it. "Your cousins are getting dumber."

Kensuke frowned.

"Let it go," Toji breathed his way.

Asuka's foot continued to hit the seat. Rei did not react.

They rode.

 _Damn it,_ Kensuke thought. How could they function so efficiently in battle and suffer such disharmony out of it? The trust they placed in him during the fight seemed to vanish. He was riding in a van full of hostile strangers.

Why did Asuka treat Rei so poorly but reserve such kindness for Shinji? They were both Nephilim, so the reason must lie beyond simple prejudice. With Rei, it was scorn and abject cruelty, above and beyond the usual idle irritation. Asuka acted like not killing her in cold blood was a struggle. Toji seemed content to accept that but Kensuke could only see problems arising from it all.

People treated him like a person, so he felt like a person. He wondered what Ayanami thought of herself after being treated like a monster by everyone.

They arrived at base. The Children headed to their respective locker rooms, the entrances facing one another in the same hallway. Toji ducked in the men's without a word. Kensuke lingered outside as he saw Asuka turn on Rei.

"This is the lady's room," she said, and pointed up at the placard beside the door. "See? Women only. Humans only. Go find a dark closet to change in or something."

Rei was unresponsive. She did not move.

"Just stay outside until I'm finished," Asuka said, and entered.

Rei waited in a small puddle, still dripping from the storm. Kensuke approached.

"Hey, how are you?"

She glanced at him. "My body is recovered."

"That's good." He recalled her bleeding freely from her nose and ears. Her blood was red, like a human. "That's good. I'm glad this fight wasn't as dangerous as last time."

"Every encounter is dangerous."

"Yeah. You're right." He watched her wait by the door with placid indifference, just like she absorbed the abuse from Asuka. "Hey. I'm sorry about Soryu. I mean, it's no fun getting insulted by her all the time. Heh. I have some experience with that."

"It is of no concern."

"I wish I could look at it that way. Maybe I'm being too self-conscious around her. If I try a little nonchalance she might open up without realizing it. Then again…" _It isn't working for you._

His eyes fell on her neck. Any bruising had cleared up, though the bomb collar remained, pressing tightly against her pale skin. He tried to push away the negativity of her situation.

"So," Kensuke began, "what are your plans for the rest of the day? I mean, yeah, we have to go to the debriefing and all, but that won't take forever. What _is_ there to do on base besides train? I remember seeing a library, and then there's that huge garden place… Um, hey! I know. We could all catch a meal after the debriefing. Well, Soryu probably won't, but I could bug Toji and maybe Ms. Ibuki and the other lieutenants and we could all go to the caf and… It's not really the same as a real restaurant, but…"

He trailed off. It dawned on him how truly miserable being trapped alone on base must be.

"We could all at least try to be more friendly and—"

Rei turned to look at him. He backed up a step despite himself.

"What you humans do means nothing to me," she told him.

She returned to the locker room door, waiting for Asuka to finish.

It felt like she slapped him. Kensuke would have preferred it. He had no rebuttal for what she said.

After wasting a moment in awkward silence staring at her back, he retreated to the men's locker room to change. Toji did not offer conversation.

When the debriefing began Kensuke sought out Rei from his seat. She sat alone near the back, coolly at attention, absorbing the meeting without any noticeable reaction. When the lights dimmed for the main monitor, her red eyes glowed in the dark. Along with the display on the bomb collar.

It was just another day, Kensuke told himself again.

/\/\/\/\

"… government then passed Resolution 7-41, the so-called 'Baby Bill,' which promised tax benefits for married couples expecting children, in response to the continual decline of national birthrates. Not just here, but most developed countries used financial incentives to encourage population growth in the face of such dramatic drops in pregnancies. Why, even scientific advances in the field of IVF bore little fruit, and so…"

The teacher continued the economics lecture, wandering seamlessly from global affairs to gauzy recollections of his youth. Not from senility, but a deep yearning for days past and a hope his students would realize what was lost so they could acquire the drive and motivation to reclaim it.

The bulk of it was lost on Kensuke. As his teacher entered an extended digression on the insidious proliferation of multi-nationalist corporations destroying local cultural pride and identity, he tuned out completely.

It rained since the battle yesterday. He idly watched it come down in sheets beyond the classroom windows. He never minded the rain; it was an invitation to stay indoors and waste time electronically, and he liked how it smelled after a storm.

He glanced at Asuka. She looked gloomy. Or, the approximation of gloomy. It was hard to peer past her beauty. He wondered if the weather dampened her mood. Kensuke turned to Toji, asleep on his open desk terminal. Maybe it was just a girl thing.

Classes eventually ended. The students packed up to depart. Toji rose languidly and began stretching.

"Ah, a nap before a workout. Nothing better."

"You still have basketball practice in this weather?" Kensuke asked.

"Our captain managed to snag half the gym today. Despite people moving away, securing areas for sports is still tough." He smiled. "So, you change your mind? Want to sign up for the team?"

"Nothing good has ever come from me competing athletically. I'll pass."

"All right," Toji said, heading out. "But don't come crawling when the class rep gets on your case for not joining any clubs."

That was Kensuke's cue to duck out of school as well, hoping to avoid any extra attention from Horaki. He headed home, checking his phone for missed messages from WILLE. The evening appeared free; no planned training sessions or surprise medical appointments. He was mildly disappointed. He wanted the opportunity to say no to them, when the fate of the city wasn't at stake. Ditching an actual attack was unthinkable, despite his antipathy. His only chance for rebellion was disrupting WILLE's schedule which he admitted was ultimately pointless.

He arrived home to multiple familiar domestic crises. The dishes could wait. Cleaning the bathroom could wait. Homework could always wait. Kensuke checked his closet. Laundry could no longer wait. He filled the hamper and headed back out into the rainy city.

The apartment complex did boast laundry facilities in the basement, but as Kensuke soon found it was almost always in use or booked for use. The building housed most of the WILLE workforce between shifts and most seemed to arrive at the same financial conclusion regarding washing machines.

So he found a close, cheap laundromat with free wi-fi and came to reserve Thursday nights for laundry. Toji had practice and homework usually tapered off midweek. Aside from WILLE he had no other responsibilities. He brought his phone and wasted time on mobile games until the laundry cycle was complete.

Kensuke dumped the first load into a washing machine and sat before it to start his dinner. Living on his own still had not impressed on him the need or desire to learn how to cook. He had a microwave so frozen meals were good enough. His stipend was generous, he grudgingly admitted, so eating out was an option as well. It wasn't the healthiest diet but he relied on his genetics to ward off weight until now and he saw no reason to change things. Even on laundry nights, when his dinner consisted of whatever he could cobble together from the laundromat vending machines. He opened his first bag of chips with his teeth as he scrolled through his phone, looking for a game to pass the time.

The laundromat entrance rattled open. A cold gust of wind and water searched him out. He shielded his phone's screen and glanced at who entered. The Thursday regulars were already present: Kensuke, an elderly man who sat patiently in his undershirt while his clothes ran, and a woman with a taste for animal prints. At the door was an unexpected face.

"Whew!" Mana Kirishima said, shaking her umbrella out. "What a storm."

The proprietor, a middle-aged man without humor, eyed her from behind the front desk. "No loitering."

"Ah, don't be like that. It's raining cats and dogs out there. I'm soaked." She displayed herself, but saw he would not entertain her wiles. "And I'm meeting a dear friend here for dinner. Your loyal customer."

She signaled for Kensuke to hurry over. He trudged to her side.

"Yeah," he said. "I sort of know her. Can she stay for a while?"

"Fifteen minutes if she buys something." The man nodded at the vending machines before turning back to a small TV behind his desk.

"It's a deal!" Mana said. She elbowed Kensuke. "Psst. Give me some money."

A few yen poorer, Kensuke returned to his washing machine and sat. Mana followed carrying a soda. Despite himself, he failed not to stare. She was in business attire and heels, looking mature beyond her years. Neglected fetishes rushed to the surface. Only her impish grin reminded him she was just a couple years older than he was.

"Oh, the get-up?" she asked, spinning on a heel. "I was out with some other paper-pushers for a government function in town. On my way back to the train I saw you across the street. I couldn't just not say hi. Hey, what's with that incredulous look? It's a small city."

"It is not a small city."

"Then it's fate," she said dreamily. "Or you're stalking me."

"I bet you'd be flattered. No. This is where I always do my laundry. The apartment is too busy."

"God, I'd hate to live near the people I work with." She grinned sheepishly. "Oops. How on earth could I possibly know that about you?"

Kensuke just scowled at her.

"It's no fun if I can't tease you," Mana complained. "Why the rainy mood, sunshine?"

"Do I really have to tell you? If WILLE keeps tabs on me, I can't believe your bosses don't."

She had the good manners to look contrite. "Hearing about you at a debriefing is way different than talking to you in person, Aida. I'd like it if you told me yourself."

 _Well, shit,_ he thought. Why did Mana have to be a cute girl? It wasn't fair to turn on the charm like that and bring his defenses down. Was the sexual warfare a conscious decision, or didn't she realize how devastating she could be?

He told himself he was getting too paranoid. Not everyone shared WILLE's deceitful ways. He refocused; a cute, older girl was taking an interest. While romance was not on his short list at the moment, he did enjoy Mana's company.

"I found out I can't have children," he said. "WILLE won't take the risk with anyone who has a blood skill."

"Oh."

"So, you did know already?" Kensuke asked. "Even when we first met?"

"I didn't have concrete evidence, but since Soryu and Suzuhara were sterilized, I assumed." She looked away. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you before."

"It didn't exactly come up. Forget about it." He sighed and leaned back against the washing machine. "It's not like I wanted kids today or anything. Maybe I'm making too big a deal of this."

"No," Mana said slowly. "You are not. They had no right to do that to you. I don't care about their justifications; at least Suzuhara and Soryu signed up for it. You weren't given any choice."

It was comforting to finally find someone to commiserate with. His normal contacts were all either loyal to WILLE or completely ignorant of its existence. There was an easy calmness in speaking to Mana. Even if he was being spied on, Kensuke felt like Kirishima was trying to be genuine with him. She might indeed be a UN agent but she was upfront about it.

"As shitty as it is, I'm glad you found out," she told him. "Even if it was through a secondary. Then again, it's not like my higher-ups tell me everything, either."

"I met your boss a while ago," he remarked.

"Mr. Kaji?"

"Yeah. He seemed really, um, cool." There was no way around that fact. He regretted bringing it up.

Mana groaned louder than necessary. "Well, then the performance was a success."

"Excuse me?"

"That's his whole shtick. He makes people relax, gets them comfortable and off guard, then swoops in for the kill. I swear to God the crap I've seen him pull with female agents or UN delegates is obscene. He just can't keep it professional. If he wasn't hot he'd be buried under sexual harassment lawsuits."

"So you think he's hot," Kensuke sulked.

"Hey, I'm trying to be honest with you. Yeah, he's good-looking, but I'd rather gargle razorblades than kiss the hypocritical bastard." She noticed his shocked expression. "Don't get me wrong. I'd take a bullet for him without a second thought but his 'appreciation' of women is disgraceful for someone who seeks truth."

"You'd die for him?"

"Of course." Mana's voice was clear and steady. "He saved me. He writes it off as doing his job but he risked his safety for mine. I can't forget that."

 _Oh,_ Kensuke thought. So her dedication wasn't out of love, but obligation. She felt indebted to the man. He being unfairly handsome was a freak coincidence.

"He's the one who opened my eyes," she went on. "He's the one who taught me how important truth is." She looked at him. "I want you to understand how important it is, too, Aida."

"I'm not a pathological liar."

"I know. I think your heart is in the right place. Most of the time." She smiled and slid down beside him against the washing machine. She started on the remainder of his chips.

"Help yourself," he frowned.

"That's right. We're just two people hanging out in a laundromat sharing a meal." Mana ate. "Have you heard of a group called SEELE?"

"Should I have?"

"I think so. They're the ones creating Nephilim." She had his attention and continued on in a quiet, casual tone. "It was SEELE agents that freed the Nephilim that attacked your old home, the one being transported by the UN fleet. The naval crew was infiltrated, which is troubling enough, but there was apparently no real plan other than letting it loose. Nephilim possess some kind of innate drive that leads them here, to WILLE HQ. And it followed, even wounded. Right through your old apartment building."

Kensuke tried to ignore the cold sweat beading his forehead. The memory of the structure collapsing before him, killing his neighbors and the cute girl in the market, gleefully sprang to his attention.

"We're figuring the fact it was injured messed with its navigation a bit," Mana went on. "Normal Nephilim don't just plow through stuff in their way. As you probably saw, there were lots of casualties. Although it wasn't the highest body count from an attack."

"So why is this SEELE group making monsters?" he asked, desperate to change the conversation slightly.

"A good question," she said. "We've known about them for decades, but it isn't like they have a sitting stronghold somewhere we can raid. They stay hidden, creating fronts or infiltrating existing organizations to achieve their ends. The UN and SDF have quietly dismantled a few mobile lab sites, but they keep popping up. As for what they're trying to accomplish with Nephilim, I can't say. It's super top secret. I wonder if even Mr. Kaji knows…"

She shook her head.

"They used a genetics lab at first, in this city, luring in brilliant scientists with the promise of power, money, and immunity from international medical law. That was the beginning of NERV."

"Soryu mentioned that name before," Kensuke told her. "I don't think she realized she said it, though."

"NERV was WILLE's forerunner. Soryu was a member, along with Suzuhara, and Katsuragi. Although back then, she wasn't the boss—"

He was horrified. "They were working for the bad guys?"

"Patience, Mr. Sniper. I told you SEELE stays hidden. Most people don't know they exist. Katsuragi didn't when she joined NERV, and the Children certainly didn't, either. They were all recruited under the leadership of two people, handpicked by SEELE to oversee their wishes. Gendo and Yui Rokubungi ran NERV like an authoritarian empire, quickly building power and influence."

Mana was solemn.

"Others tried to replicate their success. A lot of kids were subjected to all sorts of experiments because of it. I asked you before, why can only kids be given Nephilim blood and survive? It has to be what NERV started seventeen years ago. It coincided with the decline in global birthrates, as well as the creation of the first Nephilim."

Kensuke bit his tongue, trying to remain patient. Questions he gave up on having answered rushed to be heard.

"Nephilim weren't originally intended for combat," she told him. "And they weren't always so strange looking. You must have noticed it. How they look less and less human. Heck, Ayanami could almost pass for normal in comparison."

"Physically," he said quickly.

She eyed him. "Mmm. Anyway, the point is their increasingly bizarre appearances and abilities reflect SEELE's failed attempts to replicate NERV's methods."

"What were Nephilim supposed to be for?" he asked.

"Fifteen minutes is up," the proprietor called over to them.

Mana glowered, extorted another handful of money from Kensuke, and made a show of buying another soda. The proprietor went back to his TV show.

She returned to her seat. She opened the drink and took a sip. She looked at him, deadly serious.

"Do you believe in souls?" Mana asked.

Not the question he was expecting. Kirishima struck him as a fun girl, albeit with an underlying pragmatism necessitated by her job. He did not see her as devoutly religious, or spiritually new age.

"Um…"

"No, I agree with you," she said. "Unless I can see it with my own two eyes, I can't believe in it. But apparently NERV found a way to digitize a person's soul. Or, digitize what they thought was a soul. It was more than simply recording memories. It was enough to start experimenting with putting it in different bodies.

"NERV was presented as a biomedical firm to the public, specializing in artificial limb and organ growth. In a sense, they were. Cloning is simply the extreme. It's also wildly illegal and unethical. They were just trying to cheat death. When your body got too old, or too sick, or too injured, they'd download you into a new one."

"That might not be terrible," Kensuke said. "I mean, what about kids with terminal cancer? Digitize them into a healthy body."

Mana was somber. "NERV and SEELE were not altruistic. They were not looking to cure the world's ills. They were playing God, because they could. And they played it on a mountain of blood and sacrificed lives. You've seen firsthand what their experiments brought forth. It destroyed your old home. It threatens your life every other day. And life is meant to be precious. Creating new bodies, soul-swapping… they negate what makes a human, human."

He was quiet. So much for idealism. She spoke with the weight of experience.

"But technology only goes so far," she went on. "A clone is a lesser copy, and degrades fast. What NERV had, and what remains in WILLE's underground maze, was some new technology, giving birth to a new type of clone. It was stronger, more resilient, and gifted with strange abilities from its blood. They called it a Nephilim."

"You mean Ayanami?"

"Think of her as version one. That Ikari guy is version two, a refinement. But neither were quite the empty husks they were aiming for. Then again, what do you call a manufactured person?"

"You're saying Ayanami and Ikari don't have souls?" he asked quietly.

Mana shrugged. "Like I said, if I can't see it I can't believe it. I'll leave that particular theological query to the philosophers. But you have experience with them. Do they strike you as human?"

Kensuke was silent.

"It's best to at least be on your guard," she told him. "The two Nephilim working with WILLE don't have a great track record at preserving human life. Two 'accidents' involving them killed a lot of people. My security clearance is only so high and details are closely guarded, but the Rokubungis died in the first somehow. It was a massive loss for SEELE. They tried to swoop in and take control of NERV in the aftermath, but Katsuragi got wind and repelled them. I heard it was… unpleasant.

"She dissolved NERV and formed WILLE under the UN's supervision. But SEELE had enough research to begin making Nephilim of their own, albeit without the Rokubungi's finesse. So instead of walking, talking humanoids like Ayanami and Ikari, you get weird shadow egg creatures you fought the other day."

He didn't want to believe that. The only difference between Ayanami and the other Nephilim was creative finesse? Rei seemed to possess a logical sentience alien to the other Nephilim. Was that the only thing keeping her from assaulting WILLE? Did she harbor the same murderous instincts, deep down?

"The second accident," Mana went on, "occurred after WILLE's inception, as they began defending the city against SEELE's attacks. Again, I don't know the details, but somehow Ikari's powers went out of control. Dozens of WILLE personnel died. After that, Ikari was sealed away and Ayanami was locked up."

Kensuke looked at her. "Wait. The Commander told me Ikari's blood skill was always uncontrollable. That he…" He trailed off. Then how did Asuka seem to know him so well? That made no sense. If he was a walking roman candle how did he manage to get her to care for him?

"Really?" she asked. "That's what she told you? My, my, why would she lie like that? Unless it was to keep you from asking more questions. Questions about WILLE's birth and NERV and SEELE. I'm sorry, but by now you shouldn't be surprised by them not being straight with you."

He tried to absorb everything. "Why are _you_ telling me all this?" he finally asked.

"I meant what I told you before. You deserve to know the truth about the world around you. Especially when you're risking your life to safeguard it."

"For what end? Are you trying to recruit me?"

"Mr. Kaji is fond of reminding me that even if WILLE and the UN don't always see eye-to-eye, our current goal is the same. I can't condone everything Katsuragi does but I know she inspires loyalty. You've thrown your lot in with her, huh?"

Kensuke remembered what Toji told him: Misato essentially saved him after he was first exposed to Nephilim blood. Another commander might snuff the risk out immediately before he awoke. She vowed to protect his life. She saved him, maybe like how Kaji saved Mana.

He smiled without humor. "I can't back out now."

"I get it," Mana told him, shrugging. "You get cool toys, a secret base, and I'll admit they've got some hotties on staff. The UN and SDF can't compete with a real live sci-fi movie."

"That's not it."

She gave him a look.

"Okay," he said, "that's part of it."

"Thanks for the honesty. It's an endearing trait. Please keep it, even as—"

"Fifteen minutes—" the proprietor began.

"Okay!" Mana shouted back. She sighed and stood. Kensuke followed her up. "It is pretty late. I don't want to miss the last train home. Unless you'd give me shelter from the storm."

Her flirtations fell on ears deafened by their previous conversation. "My couch is small, but you should be able to fit on it. Or I'll just spot you the yen for a hotel. WILLE isn't as cheap as you might think."

She shook her head. "Still not in the teasing mood. You need to keep your eyes open, Mr. Sniper."

She made her way back to the exit. Her umbrella was dry. Outside, the city remained cloaked in rain.

"I guess I should say thanks," he told her, "for telling me all that stuff. I was beginning to make peace with never knowing anything."

"Ignorance may be bliss, but it isn't productive." Mana gazed at him, trying to keep off the grin itching her lips. "I meant it last time, and I mean it this time: be careful out there, Aida. You know, since we live in such dangerous times and all." She cuffed him on the arm.

"Yeah," Kensuke said back as she left. "You too." He opened the laundromat door and poked his head out after her. "And be careful in those shoes! The streets are… wet and… damn it."

She disappeared into the rain and he slumped. He couldn't come up with a cooler parting line than that?

/\/\/\/\

End of chapter 10

Author notes: I brought back Mana "Ms. Exposition" Kirishima for another info dump. Devoting much more time to the back story strikes me as diversionary.

Next chapter: Wait, what? _More_ back story? At least it isn't an info-dump.


	11. Penitent

Covenant Red

Chapter 11: Penitent

Disclaimer: I do not own Evangelion.

/\/\/\/\

He woke. Dreams dissolved. Reality coalesced and Kensuke struggled out of bed.

Five minutes remained before his alarm. He swore at it.

He brushed his teeth and showered. He ran a hand through his sandy hair and deemed it passable in the foggy mirror over the sink. He donned a wrinkled but clean school uniform. He grabbed the nearest clip-on tie.

He microwaved the last frozen waffle. He ate without tasting.

He brushed his teeth again. He idly stared at the frayed bristles bending over the edges.

He slipped on his school satchel and left the apartment. He rode the elevator to ground level. Toji was there first waiting, he was always there first waiting. They departed together.

The city was coordinated traffic jams. He heard a siren somewhere but did not see it.

He passed a small electronics store, its twin front windows dominated by sales on digital cameras and related accessories. He lingered a step and traffic split around him.

He could buy one now. He could have one now. There was no one to tell him no.

Toji looked back. Toji looked inquisitive.

He jogged back beside him. Back into place. Back where he belonged now. Back in the city he saw through perfect blood-speckled eyes.

The traffic resumed again as one.

/\/\/\/\

"Earth to Aida. Report in, Aida."

Kensuke glanced at the desk beside his. Toji eyed him, deciding whether to be amused or worried.

"Aida here," he replied. "All systems green."

"Yeah, I'm going to call you on that one. You've been out of it for days. What's up?"

His left shoulder issued a noncommittal shrug. "Just tired."

Kensuke steered the pre-homeroom conversation away from himself, casually dropping information about a new update for the car basketball video game they both enjoyed. Toji was immediately refocused onto scheduling an online meeting over the weekend. Kensuke tried to relax.

A week passed since his run-in with Kirishima at the laundromat. He hadn't revealed what he learned to Toji and still debated if he should. He only saw it creating more problems, for everyone involved. He felt alone in his concerns over WILLE; the open access to his apartment and person, the surveillance, the sterilization, and the life-or-death battles against monsters they may have had a hand in creating. Mana only served to reinforce his worries, and again highlight his differences with Asuka and Toji.

Maybe he should have jumped at the opportunity to ally with Kirishima and the UN. At least she was willing to be honest with him. Then again, she also readily admitted her superiors were keeping secrets from her, as well. Was that simply part of their field of work? It wasn't good for morale when soldiers questioned what they were fighting for.

A shadow fell over his desk.

He was lax. His usual peripheral study of Soryu was unshakeable, especially at school where there was nothing else worth paying attention to. But she somehow managed to slip through his visual net and stood before him. Her expected expression of dull irritation made him feel like he had violated her personal space, even though she approached him.

He was trying to remember how language worked when she tossed a box on his desk.

"Here," she said.

 _A gift?_ Kensuke picked it up with shocked reverence. He examined it.

"You bought him a camera?" Toji asked, looking on.

"Please. I bummed it off Hikari's older sister. I'm not wasting money on either of you."

"You stealing from acquaintances seems more realistic. But the question remains: why?"

"Because I'm tired of Hikari complaining about dwindling club turnout. So, I signed the Third up for Photo club. That should keep her quiet for a while."

Toji turned to him. "You never mentioned you liked photography, man. Cool."

Asuka rolled her eyes. "I managed to remember that through all the garbage he spouts at me. And if I have to suffer through Art, he can suffer through Photo."

Kensuke placed the box back on his desk. "You had no right to do that."

"Don't be melodramatic. Your social calendar isn't busting at the seams and I'm sure WILLE can spare you for—"

 _"I said you had no right to do that!"_ he screamed.

Their classmates turned to them. Toji was agape. Asuka was bemused.

"Rein in that hissy fit, missy," she said. "Stop pretending you know what's best for yourself and… Hey, don't run away when I'm talking to you—"

He left the classroom. He left the school. He didn't stop until he collapsed on the floor mat inside his apartment. He panted, hunched against the door. He couldn't outrun his head. Memories remained stubbornly in place.

/\/\/\/\

He looked for a distraction. His current video game of choice was the latest in a long running FPS series, set in a near future world of biomechanical advancements and shadowy conspiracies. He was a super soldier tasked with overthrowing a powerful authoritarian regime with mysterious ties to his own past. Typical fodder for a run-and-gun experience, but the production values and illusion of player choice helped ease the franchise fatigue.

He arrived at the unwanted but requisite forced stealth segment, alleviated by a stroke of fan service genius, as the player snuck through the ventilation system of the enemy's female barracks. The tension was offset by a number of risqué views from the vents along with the discovery of a camera just before the mission began.

Kensuke crept through, not stopping to peek in at the locker room or occupied bathroom stall. He got to a section of vent running beneath a line of at attention female officers in skirts before turning the game off. He rubbed his eyes shut and sighed.

He grew up without a mother or any female figure of authority. His father lived at work, so Kensuke's concepts of right and wrong regarding women evolved from his peers and his own private sense of interest. The advent of puberty cleaved the ranks of his childhood friends into those who embraced it, and those who were ashamed of it. The latter redoubled their efforts on academics; the former all but abandoned it.

Kensuke tried for a time to bridge the two groups but with no outside force compelling him to strive for greatness in school he eventually didn't see the point. He was a teenager. He wanted to have fun.

His group hung out under the school's metal bleachers, a hold-over from their youth. In days past it served as mighty castles and secret fortresses. Now they used it as a concealed spot to rate girls and share the rarity of non-parental blocked internet sites. They met even when the bleachers were being employed as bleachers, the noise of oblivious sports crowds drowning out meaningful discussion.

Which was okay. A lot of girls attended games to support their school teams, and the cheerleaders urged them on without regard to how short their skirts really were. Kensuke and his friends watched with impunity from beneath the bleachers, hidden from sight and any social retribution. Being labeled a pervert was public shaming of the highest degree.

They lined up one Saturday during a game, eyeing the cheerleaders cheerleading, when one of his friends absently muttered his wish for a camera.

Kensuke was embarrassed he didn't think of it first. He asked his father if they had one that weekend over a rare shared dinner.

Daigo blinked awake over his canned soup. He smiled and led Kensuke to his room.

"Your mother was a photography minor in university," he explained, rummaging through the depths of the closet. He produced a dusty shoebox and gave it to his son. "She'd love that you took an interest."

Inside was an old camera, barely digital with a user-unfriendly interface. He ran to school on Monday.

Kensuke became de facto leader of the group. They all fell into an unspoken hierarchy based on his newfound ability to distribute covert panty shots from beneath the bleachers.

Even Shutaro, who insisted he buy his pictures to show off how rich his family was. It was a revelation to be paid. Kensuke's income soon grew: word spread, more photos were taken. His group helped form an underground distribution network to most of the males in school. Even a few high schoolers caught wind. Things were good.

"Aida," his homeroom teacher told him one unremarkable Tuesday morning, "go talk to the principal."

He shrugged. Maybe the faculty didn't take his career essay on photography seriously.

He walked the halls under a cloud of whispers and disgusted glances. He paid no heed.

He entered the principal's office. The vice-principal was there, too, along with several other teachers. His father was seated before the desk. It finally struck Kensuke something was amiss.

They told him they knew about the photo ring. They told him it was over. His friends, when confronted, gave him up as the leader. Kensuke absorbed the condemnations numbly; it felt like a bad dream. Reality could never be this terrible.

Kensuke looked at his father. His father did not say a word.

The faculty was not without mercy, they told him. They would consider leniency in his case and forgo expulsion if he divulged his full client list. They wanted to weed out the negative influence in the school but the roots were still buried within the student body.

Kensuke had to bite his lip to keep from swearing at the principal. He was no rat.

"Tell them, Kensuke," his father finally spoke.

He was used to his father sounding tired. He was not used to him sounding defeated. The crushing shame and disgrace in his voice struck Kensuke. He was disappointed in him. For the first time he considered what he had done might be wrong.

He felt lower than a rat. So ratting was no big deal.

They moved. They moved as far as his father's profession allowed. They moved as the distance between them grew ever wider. They lived separate lives together in the smaller apartment with his father's smaller paycheck.

Three months later the Nephilim attacked and changed his life.

/\/\/\/\

His doorbell sounded. Kensuke blinked through the remains of his nap and rose from the couch. It was just after school. The security monitor showed Toji on his doorstep. He was carrying the camera box.

"Yo," he said as Kensuke allowed him inside.

"You can come in but you're leaving with that," Kensuke said, pointing to the camera. "I don't want it."

He walked past him, set the box on his couch, and faced him. "Hear me out."

Toji didn't ignore problems but he refused to be anything other than stubbornly optimistic in the hope they would all work out. Kensuke did admire how he faced adversity, straight ahead with guts. He just didn't like being on the receiving end.

"Look," Toji said. He frowned, choosing his words. "I won't pretend to know what's going on, and I won't pry. But you need to understand the importance of what happened today."

"Yeah, yeah, I blew up without provocation and ditched classes. I'm sorry." Kensuke couldn't defend himself properly without delving into the past and he resigned himself to take a loss here. If he looked like a fool, so be it.

"No. That's no big deal. I mean Soryu going out of her way to actually do something for another human being. Again, whatever the deal with cameras is, I don't know. But don't be so quick to dismiss her. In all my time with her, she never gave me anything. Maybe I'm making too much out of it, but you shouldn't make nothing out of it. Think about it, okay?"

Toji backed away to the door, showing his empty hands. He left.

Kensuke returned to his couch. He sighed.

He opened the box and took the camera out. He knew the brand, more from coincidence than anything else. It was expensive, overpriced, relying on the prestige of an established name as opposed to functionality. The camera itself showed minimal wear. A quick check showed a full charge and an empty memory card.

He wracked his brain to remember when he intimated to Soryu he enjoyed photography. He came up empty. She must have divined it somehow. She was just too smart not to know.

Kensuke raised the camera before him. He switched it on and peered at the display. The world became a shade surreal, awaiting capture as he was shielded and removed from it. The old feeling of security flooded back over him. He was a kid under the bleachers again.

He switched the camera off. The blank display reflected his speckled eyes.

"Damn," he muttered.

/\/\/\/\

It was early evening. Kensuke stood before Asuka's apartment. Now that he was here, he needed to think of what to say. He ran through various scenarios in his head, none of which ended well for him. But he couldn't imagine things getting any worse.

He accepted he blew a major opportunity. He was blindsided by his past and failed to see the camera for what it was: a tentative link to Soryu. She offered a possibly friendly hand and he swatted it away without thinking.

 _What a dumb move,_ he reflected. Even if the link was lost forever, he had to try to reestablish it. She deserved better than what he offered today.

He pressed the door buzzer. At length Asuka deigned to answer through the intercom.

"Hissy fit part two?" she asked.

Kensuke forced himself to laugh. "Good one. No, I wanted to talk about this morning. I think I should clarify a few things."

"What's to clarify? You hate acts of charity from your betters."

Somehow, he managed to forget how difficult talking with her was, especially when he was at fault. But at least they were talking.

"That's, uh, part of why I'm here, sure. I mean, I did want to explain some stuff to you. Um, I bet everybody was wondering what happened after I left."

"No. Not really."

He frowned. "Weren't you curious?"

"I forgot all about it until now."

 _Damn._ Kensuke deflated. His hopes of concern or at least idle awareness from Asuka were totally unfounded. If she had blown up at him like that he would have obsessed over it for days. Added to that, no one else in class cared, either?

"Only Hikari seemed interested," she told him.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Skipping school is worth at least a couple detentions."

 _Thanks, Class Rep._

"Okay, fine. I get it," he said. He sighed and leaned against the door. He realized it was still closed. "Hey, could you open the door? You know, so we can do this face-to-face?"

"No."

"Please?"

"You haven't earned that privilege."

He looked himself over: he did not come bearing a meal this time, or any kind of present that might entice her. He realized she was smarter than he was, so a rhetorical match of wits was over before it began. All he had left to offer was his self-respect.

"Not even when I'm about to completely humiliate myself?"

The intercom cut out. Kensuke waited. The door slid open.

Friendship wasn't quid pro quo. Even if Toji remained tightlipped about WILLE's past and Ikari, it wasn't his place to get angry about it. Kensuke put himself in his shoes: a possibly close friend was locked up in a coma, with no feasible path to freedom or recovery. Who'd want to blab about that? But that didn't change the fact he and Toji were friends.

He put himself in Soryu's shoes. The only person she freely smiled at was buried underground, put to sleep by her own hand. That couldn't feel good. She was alone in a foreign land, secretly fighting monsters that she may never receive accolades for. All that was a recipe for depression but she showed up to work ready and willing to put her life on the line.

Kensuke knew he should try to emulate her resolve despite his misgivings about WILLE. If Soryu was committed, shouldn't he be as well? If he could share or ease her burden, he had to try. That meant taking conscious steps to stabilize and improve their relationship. Even if he couldn't make her happy, he didn't want to see her hurt. He certainly didn't want to be the cause of any pain.

Asuka leaned against the doorframe, dully waiting. Kensuke bowed as far as he could.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you," he said, "and for not accepting the gift. I should have been grateful. It was generous, and thoughtful, and it deserved a generous, thoughtful response. I'm really sorry."

"Is your conscience clear, now?" she asked. "Run home. It's past your bedtime. I accept your humiliation."

"Wait."

He learned about her, often behind her back. He suddenly felt sneaky. Even if she never told him a thing about herself, she deserved to have some context for his actions today. Even if it shamed him all over again. He wanted her to learn about him, on his terms. He took a breath.

"About the camera," Kensuke began, forcing himself to look her in the eye. "It was a while ago, before the Nephilim attacked my home. I—"

She stopped him. "I didn't ask for, and I don't want, your life story. Save it for your therapist. We're not friends, Third."

"We're not?"

"We're comrades-in-arms," Asuka stated. "Don't mistake our interaction for anything else." She turned her back on him. "Now get lost. I shouldn't have to deal with your nonsense off the clock."

The door closed and Kensuke stared at it. He smiled broadly.

 _Yes!_ he thought. _Comrades!_ _We're already that close!_

/\/\/\/\

End of chapter 11

Author notes: I guess this information should have been communicated in a briefer, more direct fashion, but I needed to indulge my melodrama itch. As I imply I haven't been doing that all along.

Next chapter: Knock, knock. Who's there? The climax. Fucking finally, I know.


	12. Purification

Covenant Red

Chapter 12: Purification

Disclaimer: I do not own Evangelion.

/\/\/\/\

The debriefing room was fashioned after a small theater, three walls lined with tiered seats facing a stage with a massive holographic display. Nearly every chair was filled with WILLE personnel, each quietly abuzz with tense whispers. Kensuke sat by Toji, and glanced about the room.

"You know what this meeting is about?" he asked.

"Naw," Toji yawned. "Given the turnout, I'd guess a budgetary hearing."

"Everybody seems on edge."

"Then it's probably a staff performance review. Either way, I have no clue why we had to get out of bed to attend."

A door by the stage opened and several UN uniforms filed out. The last to appear was Kaji. The room turned sour.

"That guy," Toji remarked. He glanced at Asuka, a row away. Kensuke's eyes followed.

 _Yikes,_ he thought. _If looks could kill._

A second door at the other end of the stage opened to reveal Misato, Ritsuko and Hyuga. The room's chatter died. The Commander strode to center stage and met with the UN delegation. They exchanged a round of terse salutes.

Misato nodded at the back of the room and the lights dimmed. Kaji stepped forward to address the crowd first. The holographic screen lit up, projecting a neon green topographical map of Japan. It zoomed in to a glowing dot.

"Thirty-four hours ago," he said, "a lab site run by a SEELE cell was attacked by an unknown force. Neither the UN nor the SDF were involved. Several Nephilim experiments underway at the site were all destroyed. While there were signs of battle, no human casualties were found."

The display changed to a new green dot, miles away from the first on the map.

"Twenty-seven hours ago, a second lab site was attacked, with identical results."

Another dot lit up the screen.

"And eleven hours ago a third site was sacked. Again, no human casualties but every Nephilim sample was obliterated."

"Someone trying to put us out of a job?" Toji murmured.

Misato stepped forward. "No domestic or international organization or country has assumed responsibility for these strikes. But based on the summary UN reports we can make an educated guess: the culprit is probably a Nephilim."

She let the room to express its confusion for a moment before signaling for quiet.

"Investigations are ongoing. Motives and numbers remain unknown. But we can predict one thing."

"Data and telemetry offered by the UN from the attacks," Hyuga began behind her, "as well as Ayanami's abilities, points to a clear pattern."

The holographic projection widened, mapping out most of the country. The dots of the attack sites were overlaid by a line running to the capital, and WILLE HQ.

"The target, or targets, is heading here."

"ETA is less than eight hours," Kaji said.

"We're directing the city to enforce evacuation protocols immediately," Misato announced. "We aren't taking any chances. As for WILLE personnel, we're on standby to repel attack."

The display cut out and the room lights came back on.

"Return to your posts. Dismissed."

/\/\/\/\

WILLE members rose and filed out. The UN delegation lingered on stage, exchanging farewells with the Command staff. Everyone looked on edge.

"Damn," Toji muttered as he stood. "A rogue Nephilim. Maybe it's coming here to join up?"

"Pardon me for not wanting to roll out the welcome mat," Kensuke said. "I don't think anyone up there would, either."

He watched the adults talk off-mic, hoping to catch Kaji's eye. He waved as he turned to leave. Kaji offered a brief nod. He never suspected he had this serious a side to him.

"Better hurry back to the trams," Asuka called out to the departing UN group, though her eyes locked on Kaji. "Go do what you do best during a fight: hide. You'll just get in our way."

One of the UN suits frowned. "We're coordinating forces including the SDF to strike at SEELE's exposed infrastructure right now. Our concerns extend beyond this lone site."

"Of course we'll provide protection for the city during curfew," another spoke up, trying to defuse the situation. "You'll have our support until the threat is cleared."

"You mean you'll be hovering nearby to bomb us into oblivion if we screw up," Asuka shot back.

Kaji met her gaze from the stage, betraying no emotion. "We all know what's at stake here, and the risks associated. But neither side could function without faith in the other."

She stalked forward.

Misato stepped between them. "Enough. We're wasting time. Soryu, get changed. Kaji, get back topside." She did not, and he dragged his feet. "You can't do any good bickering here. And I can only technically order one of you."

The Commander gave Kaji a look. He smiled, holding his hands up in acquiescence as he ushered the other UN members out. Asuka stayed to glare until he left, then spun and stormed out. Misato rubbed her temples.

Her eyes fell on Kensuke and Toji, who had made no effort to pretend they weren't spectators to the scene. In that instant they were graced with a startling clairvoyance and knew exactly what their Commander wanted them to do without being told. They hurried out of the room and down the hall.

"I know things with the UN aren't terrific," Kensuke began once the threat of physical reprimand subsided, "but Soryu seemed particularly displeased with those guys."

"Remember when I told you some people don't consider us human now, because of our blood?" Toji said. "Ponytail McNo-Shaves back there tried to secure the Children when WILLE was formed, for 'study.' He didn't trust us to fight."

"Sounds like he was trying to get you guys out of combat duty," he said, not wanting to believe the worst.

"You weren't here when it happened, man. It got ugly. The Commander was the only person to stick up for us, saying our mere existence wasn't a threat to mankind. I thought we proved it to them by now."

Given what Mana told him about NERV, Kensuke could see the UN's point. On the other hand, like Toji said, he wasn't around when it occurred.

"So Soryu holds a grudge against Mr. Kaji?"

Toji looked uncomfortable. "At least. Uh, I think she sort of used to like him or something."

 _"What?!"_

"Yeah, I know," he said, missing Kensuke's actual meaning. "There's something gross about crushing on an old dude like that."

The irony was lost on both of them; Toji's admiration of the Commander remained blissfully intact and Kensuke was too shocked to think rationally. This new information was almost as revelatory as Ikari. It painted Asuka in ways he didn't like considering. Her having any kind of romantic history hurt what he admired and liked about her. She couldn't be just a pretty girl with a complicated past. She had to be above such a base reality.

"Don't let it bug you," Toji told him, again misinterpreting his friend's concerns. "Soryu might act like she hates it here but she's committed to WILLE. There's no conflict of interest of anything." He turned somber. "Besides, she got over it."

He pulled out his phone before Kensuke could follow up.

"Hey, man, I need to call Sakura about the curfew, so she won't worry, okay?"

"Yeah, sure."

Toji turned away and was walking.

"… Yeah," he overheard him tell his sister, "just stick with the Horaki family, okay? I'm sorry I can't be there. Yeah, I'm not even in the city right now. We got an emergency assignment. Might take a couple days…" He forced the lie out.

Kensuke edged away, feeling bad at eavesdropping. He felt the weight of his own phone and realized he had no one to call. As far as he knew his father never tried to make contact. Everyone else important to him was in WILLE.

 _I really should diversify my relationships._ At least Kirishima would be aware of the situation without any word from him.

There was still time before the Nephilim's ETA. He avoided the lockers, not trusting himself to talk to Soryu at the moment and wanting to skip any more shockers from Toji. En route to the cafeteria he passed the hallway leading to the arboretum.

He recalled the day he met her Ayanami said all she had was in WILLE. What a depressing thought, Kensuke mused. She had to be overstating the matter. Maybe if she opened up a little, others would treat her nicer. The wispy dream of team unity tickled his conscience again. Although he had yet to achieve any objective success regarding the subject he couldn't give up. Even if he had to go it alone, that was okay. He'd help bring everyone together.

Kensuke entered the arboretum. Rei was on the bench by the pond, like last time, focused on a WILLE scheduling book. There was a definite sense of stability in finding her there. She wouldn't spring any bombshells on him.

"Hi," Kensuke greeted. He realized he hadn't seen her at the meeting. Avoiding conflict with the visiting UN delegation must have superseded a united front for the Commander. "I guess you got briefed before the rest of us, huh?"

Ayanami's continual segregation from the rest of WILLE still irked him. How would any of the other Children or command staff like to be singled out for discrimination, yet still expected to risk their life without thanks?

 _Not that_ I've _ever been thanked,_ Kensuke thought. He shrugged. That was beside the point.

Rei deserved a friend. She fought to protect the city just like he or Toji or Asuka did. Sure, everyone told him Ayanami was not technically human, but she looked human enough to him. Maybe her apathy and antisocial tendencies were nothing but a reflection of her environment.

Give her a more welcoming, friendly atmosphere and she might open up, even if it was via base gossip. He knew he couldn't expect a total one-eighty in personality overnight. Trust didn't come that cheaply in their world.

"You didn't miss much at the briefing. Except Soryu sparring with that Mr. Kaji guy." That only reminded him of what he wanted to forget. "Never mind. Unless you want to talk about that?"

Rei appeared unimpressed. She must know already, he thought. Then again, who would bother to dish on WILLE scuttlebutt with her? Maybe he was attacking this the wrong way. Ayanami was a serious girl. She probably wouldn't care about the rumor mill. Kensuke settled on a more direct approach.

"Look, my point is, you should have been able to see it yourself. You're part of the team and should have been with us. It sucks being on your own." He sobered. "It sucks when you're forced on your own. I know it isn't easy to rebound from that. But, even if it sucks we shouldn't just accept it."

He tried smiling.

"Because, I mean, I know how you feel."

She looked at him.

Kensuke knew what it was like to lose all your friends. He knew how it felt to be treated like a monster. He knew it was all too easy to think of yourself as one because of it. He saw that same treatment with Rei, and a part of him began empathizing with her, drawing similarities in circumstance. But where his old friends had abandoned him, Rei probably never had any. Where he was free to meet and make new friends, she was trapped underground with an explosive tether around her neck.

They were not similar, he realized, and he did not know how she felt. For the first time he wondered if any kind of friendship was possible with this girl.

"I mean…" He trailed off as she returned to her book, having made a complete hash of things. This was turning out to be a bad day. "Uh, sorry."

He looked for a distraction and found his phone's clock. He still had over six hours before the Nephilim's ETA. So it only felt like he just spent an eternity making a fool of himself.

He shrugged. No use dwelling on failure. "Hey," he asked her, "do you want to grab a late breakfast with me?" Did Ayanami even eat?

"No."

In a way, he appreciated her directness. No surprises there.

"Okay," Kensuke sighed, turning away. "I'll see you before the sortie—"

He stopped himself as Rei's eyes went wide and she stared upwards. She looked like the sky was falling. He glanced up to see nothing but the faceted blue ceiling.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"It is here."

/\/\/\/\

 _"You're sure you sense the Nephilim?"_

Misato's voice was edging between dread and disbelief. Kensuke had immediately called the bridge, and held his phone on speaker towards Rei.

"It is here," she restated.

"What now?" he tried to ask as the Commander ordered all hands to battle stations. Over the phone, he heard organized panic from the lieutenants. The Nephilim was far ahead of schedule; evacuations weren't complete in the city, and the UN had yet to fully mobilize around them being stretched between WILLE and its strikes on SEELE. Headquarters was alone.

 _"Visual contact,"_ Hyuga announced after refining his scans. _"Via…_ satellite. _One target. It's in the lower atmosphere above HQ."_

 _"There's no time to deploy into the city,"_ the Commander said. _"It's right on top of us."_

The arboretum had the most space on base and she ordered the Children to repel the invader there.

Asuka and Toji arrived soon after, lugging armor for Kensuke and Rei. She began stripping immediately by the bench. He caught a brief glimpse of pale flesh and ducked behind a tree to change. Toji looked skyward. Asuka looked disgusted.

A subtle tremor shook the floor. Dull quakes sounded overhead.

 _"Perimeter breach,"_ Hyuga reported over the comm. as Kensuke placed the receiver in his ear. _"There was no time for surface interception. It's already digging."_

 _"Civilian evac almost complete,"_ Aoba said. _"The UN is scrambling fighters now."_

 _"Target is heading to your location. Get ready."_

A wide garden plot nearby shifted and divided in two, pulling apart to reveal a weapon cache. The Children armed themselves and took positions among the hilly terrain.

 _"Stop the target,"_ the Commander ordered.

The ceiling cracked, tons of earth and steel shifting above it before spilling through the rift. Dirt cascaded into the arboretum along with entire sections of base. Trees were flattened. A hallway plummeted into the lake.

Emergency lighting switched on. Everything was saturated in deep alarm orange. The klaxons shut off and the arboretum sank in an eerie silence.

Kensuke peered up through the dusty haze. The AT field he saw was expansive, nearly covering the entire domed roof, but it wasn't projected in waves or layers. It was certainly strong to tunnel through dozens of yards of earth and metal but it appeared straightforward.

The Nephilim floated through the hole in the ceiling. One red eye stretched over its face like an open wound. The rest of it was a pale, immaculate recreation of a human in size and shape, like a masterfully formed sculpture given life. It was too perfect. The sight of it triggered an instinctual rejection of its shape. Its flawlessness made it alien.

"Now what?" Kensuke asked.

"We kill it," Asuka stated. "Forget the fact it breached base. It's here. We put it down like the rest."

"We put it down _fast,_ " Toji amended. "I don't want to give an excuse to any trigger-happy UN pilots."

The dust settled. The Nephilim alit on the arboretum floor beside the lake, the strength of its AT field rippling the water. It cut out abruptly and its stretched eye glowed red.

"Field is down," Kensuke reported.

Asuka fired. The bullets connected but fell harmlessly to the ground. There was no ricochet or deflection, just a total loss of momentum.

"You said the field was down," she snapped.

"It is," Kensuke replied. "It's gone."

The next volley was ineffective. The Nephilim began walking towards the Children.

"Guns don't seem to be working."

Toji abandoned cover and cracked his knuckles. "Let's see it shrug _me_ off."

Asuka followed him, drawing her knife. The two ran ahead and split up, flanking the Nephilim on either side as it continued onward with indifference. They attacked; Toji's punch landed on its jaw, Asuka slashed low under its knees.

The Nephilim paused. Its body did not bleed or break.

Its arms raised and pale fingers touched Toji and Asuka on the forehead before they could recover and retreat. They both fell backwards, startled out of composure. Asuka tumbled down a low hill. Toji scrambled back to his feet and reset. He stopped short.

"I can't…" He stared down at his hands. "My blood skill won't activate."

"Get out of there," Kensuke bit out, lining up his shot. Toji ducked away and he fired. The round struck its chest without effect, limply plummeting to its feet.

The Nephilim turned in his direction. It began walking.

"Crap."

 _"All units, fall back,"_ Misato ordered. She sounded tense. _"Send 02 up."_

The floor split apart to reveal a service elevator. The lift roared upwards hauling Shinji Ikari's sealing capsule. It opened by remote and he tumbled out. The mask slid apart. Snaking light crackled to life around him. He was engulfed as he woke and stood, waves of roaring power reducing swaths of forest to ash in seconds, casting the entire chamber in chaotic neon purple.

Shinji launched himself at the Nephilim, leaving a path of destruction in his wake. He tore through the air, bringing his might to bear in a single strike. He connected, and the column of energy churning around him vanished. A clap of thunderous air rushed to fill the void. For a staggering moment nothing moved.

The Nephilim eye dimmed.

Its AT field flashed across the arboretum horizontally.

Shinji Ikari's torso was bisected. His body fell apart into a heap on the ground under a plume of blood. The Nephilim eye lit again. It trod forward without care.

Asuka was behind it, wielding her combat knife in wild-eyed fury.

 _"I'll kill you!"_

She swung the blade in jagged, hacking arcs, her usual expert grace gone. The knife refused to cut or mark the Nephilim. She kept attacking without effect, each slash punctuated with a panted scream.

The Nephilim walked on unperturbed over the decimated landscape, turning back in Kensuke's direction.

 _"Aida,"_ Ritsuko buzzed in his ear, _"get Ayanami out of there."_

Another elevator rose behind him, appearing out of a hill. He spun to find Rei. She was frozen, staring past him to Shinji's body.

Kensuke was dizzy. Nothing felt real. His feet were carrying him before he realized. He reached Rei. She looked small and lost. Far, far away Soryu continued to scream.

"Come on," he heard himself say to Rei. She did not move. He dared to lay a hand on her shoulder. She did not react. Asuka screamed again.

 _"Move, Aida!"_

The world snapped into focus. The Nephilim was cresting the hill they were on. He grabbed Rei's arm and pulled her to the waiting lift. He tripped over his own feet and they fell into it.

"Okay!" he said.

Kensuke righted himself and peered beyond the elevator doors sliding shut before him. Past the approaching Nephilim he saw Toji restrain Asuka. Her howl of complete anguish reached him before the doors could close.

/\/\/\/\

The elevator descended. There were no windows but Kensuke could see the air changing. It was different here, shimmering, heavy. His rubbed blurry eyes. He felt like he needed glasses again. His hand came away sweaty and shaking. He heard himself gulping breath and he forced his mouth shut, trying to calm down.

Already his memories were clouding in an attempt to block out the trauma. Just a nightmare, he told himself vaguely. There was no way they could have been so completely defeated so quickly. There was no way Soryu would scream like that, no way Ayanami would lose her cool.

He remembered he wasn't alone. Rei was curled into a corner of the elevator. Her gaze was vacant.

"Ayanami?" someone asked with his voice. He asked again but couldn't hear it.

The tac net sounded off a litany of crises in his ear. Panicked uncertainty filtered through from the lieutenants. The Nephilim was following the elevator's descent, leaving Asuka and Toji behind. Aida. UN fighters were nearing position over HQ. WILLE was cut open, totally exposed. Aida. Just like Ikari was cut open. Aida. All that blood…

Aida, Aida, Aida…

 _"Aida…?!"_

"Yeah," he finally answered.

 _"I said we'll try to buy you time with distance from the target but it's already en route. Prepare for reengagement."_

"I had to leave my rifle," Kensuke explained, feeling numb.

 _"We'll send another."_

What good will it do? What chance did he have against an enemy that effortlessly cut down a monster like Ikari?

The elevator jolted to a stop. The doors parted to reveal a thin walkway suspended over the maw of an abyssal drop. Similar bridges crisscrossed overhead, spiraling upwards as far as he could see. Industrial lamps on the walkways struggled to illuminate themselves.

Kensuke cautiously stepped out of the lift. "End of the line?"

 _"Almost,"_ Misato answered.

The elevator doors shut behind him, Rei still inside. It descended again.

He looked down, trying to gauge how far it went. He saw nothing but fuzzy dark. He squinted. Strange, pulsating rings of light floated along the walls below him, shifting and moving almost too subtly to detect. He tried to force the glowing symbols into some manner of coherence but they did not match any language he knew.

He shook his head. He had seen them before. Inside the strange white mask that kept Ikari asleep.

 _"We're sending you a new rifle,"_ Hyuga told him. _"Stand by."_

A lift on the other end of the bridge opened, revealing a sniper rifle. Kensuke ran to it.

Rumbles echoed down the shaft. Above him a section of wall burst apart, raining scattered debris. Kensuke shielded his head and looked up. The Nephilim appeared from the hole and stepped into air. Its AT field unfolded and it began gently floating down to his position.

 _The field is up,_ he thought dumbly, trying to reconnect the gears in his head. _The field is up. The field is up. The field is—_

"Can you collapse this walkway?" he asked.

There was a pause. _"Yes."_

The Nephilim alit before him across the bridge. Its AT field shuttered and vanished. Its red eye glowed in the darkness. Kensuke finished loading.

"When it's in the air, it uses its AT field to fly. It can't use a blood skill at the same time. If you collapse the walkway it'll be forced to use its AT field to fly and I'll be able to snipe it."

There was another pause. _"Aida, you won't have any room to—"_

"I can make the shot!"

 _"That isn't the point."_

The Nephilim was halfway across the bridge.

 _"There's no safety net here,"_ Misato said. _"I cannot ask you to do this."_

"Then don't." He felt his blood thumping in his ears. Adrenaline furiously crowded out terror. He wanted revenge on the thing that made Asuka scream like that. He wanted the source of her pain dead. He wanted her to be herself again. "Do it."

The Nephilim's grasping hand fell over the barrel of his rifle.

Explosive bolts attached to the walkway's far end detonated. The sound was louder than he anticipated. The thin bridge swung downwards in pieces and Kensuke was falling. The rifle pitched upwards and the Nephilim was weightless above him, its eye dimming as the AT field unfurled. His blurred vision could see it wasn't as powerful as it was before.

His sights aligned in a split-second. The shot cracked the air.

The field was pierced and the Nephilim's head burst apart above the jaw, blood and brain and bone exploding out towards the wall in thick red chaos. The rest of its body went limp, flailing without coordination as it plummeted. Blood streamed from the open neck. The AT field was gone, there was no eye left to glow.

His victory was cut short as he remembered how gravity worked.

Kensuke fell. He had no clue how far or how long. The strange pulsing lights below him distorted distance. As he watched, they winked out of sight. He tumbled blindly.

Far beneath him in the unnatural dark a single star flickered into existence, a tentative light finding life after a long sleep. And then an AT field opened under him, more vibrant and powerful than any he witnessed. Its pulsing edges raced upwards along the walls at him, creating a sloped funnel. With a detached logic, Kensuke realized it would be better than hitting a flat surface. Emotion kicked in. He was going to hit it.

 _This is going to hurt,_ was his last thought.

/\/\/\/\

To be concluded.


	13. Elegy

Covenant Red

Chapter 13: Elegy

Disclaimer: I do not own Evangelion.

/\/\/\/\

The pain let him know he wasn't dead.

"I'm alive," Kensuke groaned.

He opened his eyes to a white ceiling. Machines beeped in comforting regularity somewhere to his left. He tried to move to find them and couldn't. A neck brace restricted his head, his left arm and leg were encased in heavy casts, along with his right hand and most of his torso. It hurt to move. It hurt to breathe. He groaned again.

"Yo."

Kensuke tried to crane his neck and regretted it. He found the control panel to shift his bed into an upright position. The hospital room came into focus. There were no windows. It was small, empty except for a chair in the corner. Toji was sitting forward in it, elbows on knees, wearing a loose grin.

"Yo," Kensuke croaked back.

"You sound and look like crap."

"Thanks. I feel worse."

"I bet." Toji snorted a laugh. "Man, what were you thinking? That was like skydiving without a parachute. If it was balls or craziness… I never would have been able to do that."

Kensuke smiled without knowing why. The last thing he clearly recalled was being in an elevator with Ayanami. After that was the sensation of falling. But apparently all was well; the world had not ended.

"You're… good?" he tried. He didn't see any bandages. Just Toji, in civilian clothes, looking more tired than he could recall seeing him.

"I'm still breathing." He sat back in his chair. "Doc was able to figure out the Nephilim's ability from what remained of its corpse. She called it energy negation. It could cancel out bullets, and blood skills. So when it touched me and Soryu it eradicated all trace of blood skill from our bodies. We're just ordinary humans now."

Words failed Kensuke.

"It's good news," Toji said. "I can spend a lot more time with my sister. No more training. No more battles. Doc said I'll still need to stop in every now and then, for research purposes, but… I've already been debriefed. I'm here today as a visitor." He looked at him. "Come on, man, say something. You're killing me here."

"I'm sorry."

"Yeah, sorry I won't be risking my life anymore. I'll miss the paycheck, true, but I've saved most of mine to this point for Sakura. We'll be okay until I get a real job."

"You don't have to…" Kensuke trailed off.

Toji's identity protecting his sister and this city, and the ability to do so, vanished in an instant. Such an abrupt, drastic change had to be jarring yet he was acting like it was a relief. The fantastic world he made a home in was suddenly beyond reach.

"I'm your friend."

"Yeah," Toji said, bemused. "That's why I'm here. And let me tell you it got plenty boring waiting for you to wake up. Another day sitting here and I'd go stir crazy."

A yawn interrupted Kensuke's attempt to pry further. Toji smiled. He rose from the chair and stretched.

"They told me not to keep you awake. Rest up. It was good to see you, man."

Kensuke panicked. "You're leaving?"

"Don't freak out. I'm not going anywhere until my sister graduates high school, so…" He quirked a smile. "This isn't goodbye. We live in the same damn apartment complex."

"Yeah…"

Toji hesitated, then shrugged. "417."

"What?"

"That's my apartment number. 417. Drop by when Akagi lets you out of here, okay? Sakura's been asking about you." He frowned. "I guess I'll allow it. She's been so adamant. And, you know, like you said, we're friends."

Kensuke smiled. It dissolved. He remembered Shinji Ikari being cut in half. He went cold. "Ikari…" he began.

Toji stopped under the doorframe. He didn't turn back.

"Ikari…" He shook his head in correction. "Shinji is dead. Even he couldn't survive the…" He bit off the rest.

"How's Soyru?" Kensuke whispered.

"No clue. I haven't seen her in days. The Class Rep couldn't even get a hold of her." He took a breath to say more, then didn't. He forced a grin over his shoulder. "Focus on yourself. Get better before worrying over anyone else, alright?"

He issued a half-nod to avoid conflict. Toji accepted it.

"See you later, man."

"See you."

The door shut and fatigue overwhelmed him. His eyes were too heavy to keep open. His last thought before a troubled sleep was the memory of Asuka's tortured scream.

/\/\/\/\

Time passed. He woke. He was still in the same room. He managed to sit up to look around.

At his bedside was a tray. On it was a wrapped box with a card, and a note beside them printed in Maya Ibuki's meticulous handwriting. Kensuke collected them on his lap.

 _Dear Mr. Aida,_ Maya's note read, _this package came for you yesterday. I should apologize; we had to open it and make sure it was safe. I'm sure you understand. I rewrapped it as best I could. Please use it sparingly, as you should be focused on recovery. Take care._

He opened the card and found UN stationary.

 _Get better soon, Mr. Sniper. –MK._

"Kirishima?" he said aloud, and couldn't help but smile.

Kensuke managed to open the box. It was a PockeTech 4, the newest handheld system, and a port of the mecha game they played together on the day they met at the arcade. He wondered if her "get better soon" wish referred to his health or his gameplay ability.

"And she's always complaining about money," he muttered, fumbling to turn the system on. "Did she steal this maybe?"

Bandaged hands weren't conducive to playing video games but he was determined. And there wasn't anything else to do in this hospital room.

He was an hour into the single player campaign when the door slid open without warning. Misato entered and watched patiently as he scrambled to turn off the game.

"Commander Katsuragi," he saluted on instinct.

"At ease," she told him. "Good to see you awake and alert."

He hadn't seen her in person since before the last battle. It felt like years ago. Her uniform was prim as ever, but her demeanor felt even farther away than usual. Her eyes looked weary, old. A sizeable bruise distorted the natural elegance of her jaw line. She let him stare until he caught himself, and he looked away awkwardly.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Huh? Oh, uh, I won't lie. I've never been this banged-up in my life. It hurts and it sucks."

"You're lucky to be alive. But I'll ask Dr. Akagi to up your pain meds."

"No," he said, finding a spark of stubbornness. "I mean, it's not that bad." He cleared his throat. "Um, anyways, I saw Toji. He told me about, you know, him losing his blood skill along with Soryu..."

"It was a costly battle," the Commander admitted.

"… And about Ikari dying."

Misato was stoic.

"But, I mean…" Kensuke glanced up at her. "Is losing one body really a death sentence? Can't you transfer him back?"

"What are you talking about?" she asked carefully.

He related what Mana told him in the laundromat, without relating her name.

"I won't ask who told you such stories," she said.

"But you can guess?"

"I'm not in the habit of disappearing people, Aida. No matter what you may think." Misato surprised him by sitting in the free chair. She crossed her legs, getting comfortable.

"I don't want to get anybody in trouble," he told her.

"I know."

"She only told me stuff she thought I should know."

"I'm sure." Misato frowned. "How does Kaji describe her? Spirited? I can't approve of divulging sensitive information so casually, but what's done is done." She nodded at the gift Mana gave him. "That girl is certainly direct. Watch yourself."

"If you mean, stay on her good side, yeah. I will try my best. She acts like she's fighting the world."

She almost grinned at his response. "It's important to know how to pick your battles." She was quiet for a moment. "I suppose you feel like I picked a fight with you."

Kensuke wanted to summon all his justified anger to bear, to finally vent on the source of his troubles over the past few months. But he realized it was really difficult to be pissed at a beautiful woman right in front of him.

 _Am I that shallow?_ he wondered. He reflected on the degree of crap he let Soryu get away with and decided he was.

"I'd appreciate some answers," he said instead. "Do you think I've earned them?"

His tone wasn't accusatory or bitter. She sighed deeply.

"You fulfilled your duty as a member of WILLE," she said. "No more, no less. That's what I should say. You stayed with us knowing the dangers." She paused to look down. "Even so, what you did on the bridge against the last Nephilim…"

Misato looked at him. Misato smiled at him.

"Thank you, Kensuke."

 _Wow._ "Oh, uh, sure," he managed to fluster out. "No problem."

Now Toji's appreciation for Ms. Katsuragi made too much sense. That WMD smile should be outlawed, out of simple fairness. No man would resist her orders.

Her smile flitted into a knowing tease for a split-second before being smothered by the sober weight of her authority.

"Don't think I enjoy keeping secrets from my crew," she said, before giving the impression of a shrug. "But yes, you have earned some answers. Ask."

Kensuke realized he would probably never have this opportunity again. One-on-one with his Commander, who for once seemed accessible. He was also smart enough not to burn this bridge behind him. She was still his boss, in charge of WILLE and his life for the foreseeable future. But that smile reminded him she was also a human being.

"What's your favorite food?"

Misato arched an eyebrow. "If you aren't going to take this seriously, I'll leave."

Despite that, she made no move towards the exit. She sat patiently, watching him.

 _Strike one,_ Kensuke thought. Okay. No fooling around. Strictly business.

"What exactly is a Nephilim?" he asked.

"An inhuman thing with human form," she responded. "At least, in the beginning. Ms. Kirishima pieced together quite a bit but it isn't the whole truth. The technology the Rokubungis used here was an attempt to advance mankind. Nephilim were the result. They were meant to be the next step in human evolution.

"The Rokubungis wanted to usher in a new world they would rule over. Ayanami and Ikari were created as vessels for their souls. But they were not empty husks. They rejected transfer. So the Rokubungis turned to manipulating Nephilim blood to achieve their ends. Many, many people died for their desires.

"NERV's purpose was genocidal. It had to be destroyed. WILLE exists as a barrier to what NERV wanted, and to prevent the Nephilim from returning to their source."

"What would happen?" Kensuke asked. He wished he had some popcorn.

"Human extinction," Misato said. "The initial experiments seventeen years ago triggered what we call the Impact, causing global birthrates to drastically decline. It took mountains of lives for NERV to discover only those managed to be born after it were candidates for blood skill creation, gaining power like a Nephilim. And a Nephilim commanding the technology WILLE guards could provoke another Impact, one that finishes what the Rokubungis began."

He shrugged. "So, why don't you destroy this tech? Blow it up or something?"

The Commander hesitated just enough to be noticed. "If it was that simple we would have. Any further involvement could be disastrous. We, I cannot risk it."

 _So Ikari really is gone,_ he thought. He sagged. "I heard about some incidents between Ayanami and Ikari…"

She told him. As the first Nephilim Rei was confined to a secure lab since creation and served as a living experiment. Shinji was reared in a more direct fashion by the Rokubungis, but was allowed supervised contact with Rei. She grew to resent the difference, and finally lashed out, severing Shinji's arm with her AT field. His resulting uncontrollable blood skill activation killed Gendo and Yui.

"… That was the end of NERV," Misato said. "Their deaths threw all of their schemes into the light. It was an uneasy transition to UN partnership and WILLE's creation. We were left to try and survive as best we could against SEELE and their creations. Soryu, Suzuhara and Ikari risked their lives to protect us, despite everything. And despite the UN's objections."

He frowned. "I feel like a jerk for asking, but why did the UN keep Ikari and Ayanami alive at all if they were such a risk?"

"As the first Nephilim, Ayanami had certain… measures programmed into her that she isn't aware of. She is part of the barrier we use to seal the technology. SEELE found ways around it, but if Ayanami were to die the floodgates could open. So too, if she were to come into contact with it. Which is what all Nephilim want. Ritsuko, Dr. Akagi, likens it to a biological imperative."

"Then how come Ayanami hasn't rebelled?" Kensuke asked. "Despite the collar?"

"Ikari convinced her. He determined humanity deserved to be saved, despite all our ugliness." There was almost fondness in her voice. It vanished as quickly as it appeared. "He wanted to be stronger, to help WILLE. After a time, Ayanami offered to assist him.

"Remember, her ability is energy manipulation and his was a form of energy production. She turned off the restraints on his blood skill. As you saw, it did indeed make him very powerful, but he lost any measure of control. Even Ayanami couldn't do a thing. So many died that day…"

"That's why you put that collar on her? Even though you can't use it?"

Misato returned to formality. "Ayanami's death may well be a dangerous unknown, but I won't hesitate to use that collar if she forces the issue. Nephilim are, first and foremost, by their very nature, a threat to humanity. And I cannot put faith in stated motivations when actions do not match them. Ikari convinced Ayanami to aid WILLE. Eventually. If I was wary of him, I would be a fool to trust her without precaution."

Still, he thought, she fought for WILLE, risking her own life while killing her brethren. Was it really Ikari that swayed her actions? He did remember how deeply his death seemed to affect her.

Kensuke felt ashamed at asking. "Did she love Ikari?"

Misato considered the question in a way that made him feel she arrived at an answer long ago. "I don't think Ayanami knows what love is. Maybe because she was never shown it. Understand, she considers humans the way we consider apes. We are 'beneath' her. She was created to inherit a world without us. I will not allow that to happen."

WILLE was the embodiment of the Commander's determination. And she led it not by edict but by example. Kensuke now understood that it wasn't simply the Children risking their lives against the Nephilim. Everyone in WILLE fought for humanity's survival without hesitation, without complaint of personal sacrifice or hardship, without question of Misato's motivations or reasoning. The stakes were too high to do otherwise.

Still, it would have been nice to know this earlier.

She rose to leave. "You have your answers. I hope you make more intelligent decisions with this knowledge than others."

Kensuke couldn't help but think that was a dig at Mana. "I'm not going to go blab to the tabloids or anything. But you can't blame people for wanting to know. I don't think the UN is the bad guy."

"The UN and WILLE hold differing opinions on the release of information. The man you met, Mr. Kaji, favors giving people much more." Her eyes left his. "I do not. So I'll remind you everything I said here is classified. I'll also remind you that you remain a member of WILLE."

"So, keep my mouth shut, or else?" he half-joked.

"Being part of WILLE carries with it the responsibility to protect those who cannot protect themselves. That includes safeguarding this information. I want you to understand why we do what we do." She wore a bitter face. "Even if I can't ask for your forgiveness, know my priority was always the safety of the most at the cost of the fewest."

Kensuke remembered what Toji told him. The Commander had the chance to eliminate the danger he represented when he first arrived, to protect the rest of her staff, and humanity. She didn't. She risked him developing into a threat because he was human. For the first time he glimpsed the impossible burden on her shoulders.

"Toji…" he began, "Toji told me, about when I first came here, that—"

"You're still a human, Aida," Misato said to him. "Your blood doesn't change that fact. WILLE exists to protect mankind. That is what I will do, as long as I am able."

She lingered a moment at the open door. When she turned back to him, she nearly smiled again.

"You've earned some R&R. Use it. That's an order."

She was gone before he could respond.

/\/\/\/\

More time passed. Limited mobility returned as injuries slowly healed, and he could finally reach the bathroom with crutches. It was awkward, but less awkward than a bedpan.

He recently discovered a communications panel next to his bed, putting him in contact with lieutenant Hyuga for help coordinating meals and finding wifi access. He was speaking to him about the former, requesting the usual premade waffles for breakfast. There was a simple comfort in recreating his normal routine in the hospital.

"Thanks," Kensuke said, after the order was received.

 _"Glad to help, Aida. If anything, the cooks should thank you. I think you're the only one on base who's ever complimented their meals sincerely."_

"I'm not much of a foodie, I guess. As long as it tastes better than cardboard and fills me up, I'm happy."

Hyuga laughed. _"That's admirable, really. I should be more grateful, too, and…"_

He trailed off and Kensuke thought the line failed.

"Lieutenant?"

 _"Sorry, Aida. Um, Soryu just entered base for the first time since she… It's been awhile. I need to tell the Commander. Bye."_

Kensuke was out of bed and on his crutches, hobbling towards the door before the call ended. He was down the hall before realizing he didn't know where Asuka was headed. He forced a degree of reason. To avoid missing her in transit he went to the tram entrance and staked out a seat in the hallway before the shuttered gates.

A metal bench was not as accepting as a hospital bed, no matter how he contorted his injured body. He stood. He got tired and sat again. He waited.

There were no clocks on the walls and he had no phone. He briefly wondered if Soryu came to see him and was waiting in his empty room. He dismissed that rationally, yet still hoped.

He was finishing his third tally of the floor tiles when Asuka appeared around the hall corner. Seeing her in person cemented she was alive. He was careful to avoid dwelling on her for too long until now because he had no clue how she coped with the last battle. He couldn't see her adopting Toji's artificial optimism for his benefit.

Even if she wasn't his friend, she was his comrade, he thought. He slumped. That was no longer true. She no longer possessed a blood skill. She was, as Toj said, just an ordinary human now.

He shook his head. Asuka would never be ordinary.

She approached but his greeting died in his throat. She looked drained and resigned, crushed. She looked utterly defeated.

And then it was gone as she noticed him on the bench, replaced with casual disinterest. Asuka heaved a monumental sigh and stopped before him.

She eyed him. "So, you're alive."

"Oh. Yeah."

"Well, that's good for you."

Classic Soryu. That ironic dismissal of his near-demise had to mean she was okay. He tried to bury his concerns and let her know how glad he was to see her.

"I'm sorry," was what came out instead, "about your blood skill—"

She made him shut up with a tired look. "Save it. I don't want pity. And I don't need a blood skill. I don't have to rely on that to be someone."

Of course she didn't. She was smart and pretty and talented. She could do anything she wanted.

"But it's not like they'd keep me around here without one. My true talents were always wasted on you."

It took him a moment to realize she was talking about more than himself and HQ. The world dropped from beneath him.

"You're leaving?"

"There's nothing left in this dump. After the breach, it's only a matter of time before the UN gets their way and absorbs WILLE completely. Katsuragi's argument was that she was able to best protect this site on her own. She was never able to do what needed to be done."

"You're leaving?"

Asuka sighed again. "Japan was a vacation that went to crap. It was never home, and never will be. Nothing's keeping me here."

"But…" Kensuke wracked his brain. "But what about school? And Horaki? And…"

"That school is a joke and Hikari will get over it. She's tougher than she lets on."

He gestured silently, futilely. He was too afraid to ask his real question: _what about me?_

She shrugged in dismissal. "So long, kid. Have fun on this sinking ship. Don't go jumping off any more bridges."

She walked away to the trams, hands buried in the pockets of her oversized jacket. Kensuke tried to stand and hobble after. Even without a busted leg he was no match for her gait. His heart strained towards her.

"Actually," Asuka said, abruptly stopping to turn on him, "I will offer you one more piece of advice. Stay away from the First. For your own good."

"Ayanami?"

"Katsuragi doesn't have any carrots left to dangle in front of its nose. God knows what it'll do now. I'm not waiting around to find out."

There was an inkling of cohesion in his mind between Soryu and Ayanami. He saw firsthand their reactions to Shinji Ikari's death. They both cared for him in some capacity. Even if they were clichéd rivals in love they both shared feelings Kensuke had no access to, that no one else might have access to. The two of them might find some solace together.

"Why not try talking to her?" Kensuke asked.

"I don't talk to _things_ ," Asuka responded. "Ayanami is not human."

"Not human," he repeated. "Like Ikari?" He knew it was the wrong thing to say before he said it.

She stared through him. All emotion bled from her.

She reached inside her jacket. For an irrational second he trusted her to pull a gun and shoot him dead.

Instead she retrieved the SDAT player he saw in her apartment. She uncoiled the earbuds, carefully placed them in either ear, and pressed the device on. Asuka turned away down the hall.

 _Shit,_ he thought.

"Soryu!" he called after her.

She did not stop. She did not look back. She passed under the tram's shuttered gate and it closed behind her. She was gone.

She was gone.

/\/\/\/\

Days passed. Wounds healed, bones mended. Kensuke focused on physical rehabilitation, sweat and pain drowning out emotion. His casts were replaced with braces but he still relied on crutches for mobility.

Kensuke found a new routine. He woke and ate, attended rehab in a spacious, empty gym, broke for lunch, went back to rehab, then tried to stay awake until dinner. It was physically grueling but he appreciated being too exhausted to think.

A new normal descended on WILLE as he recovered. He saw existing members fulfill their duties with a subdued melancholy as UN suits stayed on site after the breach, ostensibly overseeing reconstruction efforts and security. The writing was on the wall. How and when WILLE was integrated directly into the UN fold seemed only a matter of time.

No one briefed him on possible changes yet and lieutenant Hyuga was always careful to avoid discussing current events in any detail. It felt different than the tactical reluctance his superiors showed him before. Their future was uncertain, and so was his. The Children were all but disbanded. Kensuke imagined his frontline days were numbered. And if the UN had no use for him, he wondered what they'd do with Ayanami.

His soft inquiries about her were met with uniform reticence. He gave up on the adults and went looking for her himself one Sunday free from scheduled rehabilitation. The arboretum entrance was the same as before, nothing but another heavy bulkhead in a WILLE hallway. His last memories of it were steeped in horror and death. Kensuke paused a moment, trying to mourn for someone he never knew. He opened the door.

The arboretum's landscape was all but restored to normal. Debris from the destroyed roof was cleared, new trees and grass were planted. The only proof of battle was the ongoing reconstruction to the ceiling, a snaking scar surrounded by gantry lights and cranes.

Kensuke made his way around the pond. The lifts and weapon caches were hidden away again. There was no more blood on the walkway to mark where Ikari made his last stand. Everything but comforting artifice was swept away. The water was blue, the grass was green, the trees were still. He continued on.

Rei was on the bench by the pond.

"Hi there," he greeted, manipulating his crutches to wave.

She turned her eyes to him, then away.

She had no book this time. Her posture remained perfect. The WILLE uniform she wore looked out of place now, despite how well she filled it out. That must be the only outfit afforded her. Maybe she hated it. Wearing the clothes of her captors, pretending to be one of them. He watched her a moment in silence.

Ayanami was a manmade construct created to replace humans. The artificial next step in evolution, set to inherit a world she would never know. Despite that knowledge he didn't feel fear or disgust, just a sense of pity.

Time stretched. This was not the companionable silence he sometimes shared with Toji. He took to scanning the landscape to distract himself, and nearly forgot he wasn't alone when she spoke.

"Does this space comfort you?"

Kensuke almost fell over.

 _Holy shit,_ he thought. _Rei Ayanami just asked me a question._

"Do humans enjoy it?" she went on.

"I… guess?" he fumbled, puzzling over what she wanted. "Don't you like it?" She always hung out here.

"I do not know."

"Oh."

He waited for another question. None came. The quiet became too much.

"Things seemed to have calmed down," he hoped as he said it. "I haven't heard about any other Nephilim attacks, right?"

"I have detected nothing. The UN has reported none."

"Good."

 _This is awkward,_ he thought as they descended into silence once more. _Why did I come here?_

He was the last Child. She was perhaps the last Nephilim. If he was truly to be some kind of bridge between them and humans, he was doing a terrible job of it.

Kensuke resolved himself. Rei's contact with humanity to this point was, from his view, horrible. People ordered her to kill fellow Nephilim, or tried to kill her. She was trapped beneath the real world with a bomb around her neck. She was, maybe more than ever before, alone.

Even if she felt that, even if she believed humanity was beneath her as the Commander told him, there had to be a path forward to a more hopeful coexistence. Kensuke fought beside her, talked with her, shared his feelings with her. He remembered her in the elevator after Ikari died, small and shaken, mute with grief. If that wasn't proof of human emotion he didn't know what was.

"Ayanami," he began, "thank you for saving me."

He had since received a debriefing on the details of the last sortie, although his memory remained fuzzy about the final confrontation on the bridge. He was shocked to discover it was Rei who rescued him from plummeting to his death, unfurling her AT field to mitigate his fall. Commander's orders or not, Ayanami was the only reason he wasn't a smear on the floor. He spent a long time during his recovery pondering how to repay her.

"I, uh, I don't think I was exactly seeing straight. So, thank you."

He glanced at her. No reaction.

"And I'm sorry," Kensuke went on, "about what happened." He hoped that wasn't too awkward to drown out his sympathies. Rei's continued silence compelled him to keep talking. "I wish I could have done something sooner during the battle."

Any pride at having figured out how to defeat the Nephilim was short-lived. The fact remained it cut down Ikari without hesitation while everyone else watched. He paused. Why didn't it injure anyone else? It had the opportunity to take them all out easily, but it didn't.

"The Nephilim's behavior didn't make sense," he realized. "It never tried to hurt anyone else…"

"Its intent was obvious," Rei stated.

Kensuke gently let her know he didn't agree.

"It eliminated fellow Nephilim," she explained, "yet spared every human it came across. It eliminated the blood skill from the First and Second Children, and tried to eliminate yours. It decided humans and Nephilim could not coexist. It decided humans should not be the existence to be removed."

She was quiet for a long time.

"I believe Ikari would be okay with that conclusion."

"Are you?"

"That is irrelevant."

"No," he said, "it's not."

"My beliefs will not alter the situation," Rei said.

"That doesn't make them unimportant."

The Commander seemed determined not to touch Nephilim technology, even if it meant saving Ikari. And Rei was doomed to stay alive as an unwitting safety measure. The UN might bury her away with everything else in WILLE. Kensuke felt she had earned better than that. A normal life might be impossible but she deserved some measure of recognition for defending the world, even if it was just from him.

 _Right?_ he thought.

Her gaze did not waver from the pond. "Why do you bother?"

Kensuke looked out over the water. "A lot of people in and around WILLE have made a lot of harmful decisions. I don't want to be one of them." He frowned. "I guess that's pretty selfish of me."

He didn't face the same decisions Misato or Kaji faced. He didn't want to. No matter what they did or didn't do, people would be hurt. He had the luxury of trying to befriend Rei, he realized, even if she rejected him.

"I am sorry about what I said to you the other day. I don't know how you feel," he admitted. "But I'm willing to listen."

Kensuke waited. Even if she did not tell him a thing today or tomorrow or twenty years from now that was okay. As long as she had at least one avenue to humanity maybe she wouldn't feel so alone. Maybe one day she might agree with Ikari that mankind was worth saving.

This was his vow. To help protect the world within the means available to him, to assist the Commander and Mr. Kaji and Kirishima and WILLE and the UN. For his father, who he never got to apologize to. For Horaki and her family. In honor of Toji and Soryu. To make Ikari's sacrifice not be in vain.

Rei watched the pond. Kensuke waited.

/\/\/\/\

End

Author notes: This is where my derailed train of ideas abruptly lost momentum. A possible prequel would only cover an Asuka/Shinji/Rei dynamic other, better writers have explored. Anything after this point, with Kensuke and Mana (and Rei) hunting down surviving Nephilim, sounds redundant and (more) boring.

Thank you for reading.


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